Clippers end skid with victory over Cavaliers
CLEVELAND -- Blake Griffin scored 13 points and passed for a season-high 11 assists in the Los Angeles Clippers' 113-94 victory Thursday against the Cleveland Cavaliers, ending their three-game losing streak.
DeAndre Jordan grabbed 15 rebounds, while Chris Paul scored 16 points and passed for nine assists on a night Los Angeles passed for a season-high 33 assists. It was the type of performance coach Doc Rivers was hoping for following an embarrassing double-overtime loss at the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday.
The Cavs' struggles, meanwhile, continue. Kyrie Irving scored 28 points and LeBron James scored 16 points, but Cleveland passed for just 12 assists while committing 18 turnovers. It was their most lopsided loss of the season and marked their biggest deficit of the season after they trailed by 27 in the second half.
A jumper from Tristan Thompson pulled the Cavs within 47-45 with two minutes left in the first half, but the Clippers outscored the Cavs by 14 over the final two minutes of the first half and the first two minutes of the third quarter.
The Cavs opened the second half with three consecutive turnovers, followed by missed shots on their next five possessions. They didn't score their first basket of the second half until nearly four minutes into the third quarter. By then, the Clippers' lead was 16.
Kevin Love scored 16 points but grabbed only four rebounds. He didn't get his first rebound until midway through the third quarter on a night the Clippers outrebounded them 47-36.
The Cavs shot 9 of 24 from the 3-point line, snapping their NBA-record streak of 16 consecutive games with at least 10 3-pointers.
NOTES: LeBron James was named Sports Illustrated's Sportsperson of the Year on Thursday, joining Tiger Woods as the only athletes to win it twice. James also won it in 2012. ... James will pay up on his World Series bet with Bulls G Dwyane Wade and wear a full Cubs uniform to Friday's game at Chicago. Wade would've had to wear an Indians uniform in Cleveland had the Tribe won the World Series. ... Cavs G/F Mike Dunleavy was placed in the league's concussion protocol after getting hit in the head in Tuesday's loss at Milwaukee. ... Clippers coach Doc Rivers was fined $15,000 for his outburst toward official Ken Mauer during Tuesday's loss at Brooklyn. Rivers didn't realize how angry he looked until watching the replay after the game. "I kept getting calls from my friends from Boston like, 'Are you OK?' And I thought, "What the hell, was I that over the board?" And then when I saw it I was like, "Yeah, I was pretty nuts." ... Rivers said he got emotional watching his protege, Tyronn Lue, win the championship last season. "Other than me winning, it was the best single day I have ever had, it was that emotional for me because he is like my son," Rivers said. "It was awesome for me."