Clippers hang on in second half to defeat Kings
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Blake Griffin scored 29 points, and J.J. Redick tallied 22 of his 26 in the first half, and the Los Angeles Clippers held on in the second half to beat the Sacramento Kings 121-115 at Golden 1 Center on Friday.
Chris Paul added 12 assists, none bigger than his alley-oop pass from the top of the key to DeAndre Jordan for a dunk and a 119-115 lead with 1:36 left. He also finished with 11 points and canned a 3-pointer from the top of the arc with 4:39 left in the final quarter that stopped a 9-0 Sacramento run.
Until then, the game belonged to Los Angeles. The Clippers led 73-54 at halftime and extended it to 106-86 less than a minute into the final quarter before Sacramento's last-gasp effort.
Forward DeMarcus Cousins finished with a season-best 38 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, but the Kings once again were unable to overcome a poor effort by their starting five. Sacramento (4-9) trailed 40-24 after starting the contest with their worst defensive quarter of the season and dropped its fourth straight contest. The Kings have lost eighth straight at home to the Clippers.
Sacramento got as close as 117-115 on Matt Barnes' free throw with 2:04 left. But Jordan answered with the dunk off Paul's pass; Cousins committed an offensive foul and Paul made one of two free throws after a Darren Collison foul with 38.5 seconds left.
Jordan finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds, and the Clippers improved to 6-0 on the road. Austin Rivers scored 12.
Ty Lawson finished with 18 points for Sacramento and made 7 of 10 shots from the field, including a 3-pointer with 2:23 left that pulled the Kings within 117-11. Lawson has made 12 of 22 over the past four games after an 0-for-15 slump.
Redick was at his deadliest while firing away from outside the arc in the first half. The 11th-season veteran knocked down all six of his 3-point attempts before halftime, helping the Clippers build a 26-point lead and extending to 69 the NBA's longest active streak of consecutive games with at least one. His streak is the seventh longest in NBA history.
NOTES: The Los Angeles Times reported that former Clippers owner Donald Sterling and the NBA have settled their legal battle stemming from his $2 billion sale of the team. The NBA banned Sterling for life in 2014 after racist statements he made became public. ... Kings coach Dave Joerger kept his starting five -- G's Ty Lawson and Aaron Afflalo; F's Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousins and C Kosta Koufos -- together despite speculation he might shake things up. Those five have started 11 of Sacramento's first 13 games this season. ... Clipper G Chris Paul revealed to Los Angeles media outlets that he had Lasik surgery to correct his vision in the offseason. Paul, in his 12th season, is shooting a career-best 46 percent from 3-point range. ... The Kings recalled rookie C George Papagiannis, after he played three games for the Reno Bighorns of the Developmental League. Papagiannis, traded by Phoenix to Sacramento after the Suns picked him 13th overall, played six minutes at Milwaukee and scored two points in a blowout loss Nov. 5 in his only NBA game.