Clippers at Nets
THE STORY: Chris Paul hasn’t been on the winning side very often when he squares off against Deron Williams. The Los Angeles Clippers point guard was just 4-12 against Williams’ teams when he played for the New Orleans Hornets. The Clippers beat the New Jersey Nets earlier this season with Paul on the sidelines with a hamstring injury. Williams scored a franchise-record 57 points for the Nets on Sunday but had just 16 in Tuesday’s loss to the Miami Heat.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, Prime Ticket (Los Angeles), YES (New Jersey)
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (22-14): Forward Blake Griffin has back-to-back double-doubles after a rare three-game stretch without one. Griffin had 26 points and 12 rebounds Monday while going up against fellow All-Star Kevin Love but lost the power-forward competition and the ballgame as Love had 39 points and 17 rebounds. Griffin has 23 double-doubles this season and one of them occurred when he had 23 points and 14 rebounds in a victory over New Jersey. Griffin averages 21.2 points and 11.1 rebounds.
ABOUT THE NETS (12-27): New Jersey was badly outclassed in losing 108-78 to the Miami Heat on Tuesday. The Nets allowed the Heat to shoot 58.4 percent from the field, including 10 of 17 from 3-point range. New Jersey was never in the game after Miami took a 22-point lead just 14 minutes into the contest. “We were down early and we were down late,” Nets coach Avery Johnson said. “They were about three steps quicker than us. They played on more of a playoff level and we played on more of a preseason level.”
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Paul is averaging 15.4 points and nine assists while Williams is averaging 16.7 points and 8.4 assists in the 16 head-to-head matchups.
2. New Jersey’s 3-13 home mark is tied for worst in the NBA with the Charlotte Bobcats.
3. The Clippers are 2-2 during their six-game road trip.