Clippers at Thunder
Chris Paul is setting NBA records as he drags the Los Angeles Clippers to the top half of the Western Conference. Paul will look to notch his 13th straight points-assists double-double to begin the season when the Clippers visit the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday. Paul scored 16 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter and handed out 11 assists on Wednesday to guide Los Angeles past the Minnesota Timberwolves in the opener of a two-game trip.
The Thunder will be looking for some revenge after suffering a 111-103 defeat to the Clippers in Los Angeles on Nov. 13. Oklahoma City fell again the next night but took its last two, including a 115-113 victory over Denver on Monday that kicked off a six-game homestand. That win left coach Scott Brooks and star Kevin Durant upset about the defensive effort. “We’ve got to do a better job of being a defensive team,” Brooks said. “We have to play better defense.”
TV: 8 p.m. ET, TNT
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (8-4): Paul was the best player on the floor in the final minutes at Minnesota, scoring 13 in a row for Los Angeles at one point in the last four minutes to spark the team to a 102-98 victory. Paul went for 14 points and 16 assists in the first meeting with the Thunder but was overshadowed by teammate Matt Barnes, who got into a shoving match with Oklahoma City forward Serge Ibaka that left both ejected and was followed by some profane tweets from Barnes in the locker room. Barnes will not be a concern on Thursday, as he did not travel with the team on the road trip after suffering an eye contusion on Monday.
ABOUT THE THUNDER (7-3): That skirmish between Barnes and Ibaka ended up being much worse for Oklahoma City, which squandered a nine-point halftime lead. Ibaka had been 6-for-6 from the floor in that first half before being tossed with six seconds left in the second quarter, and the team is increasing his role in the offense as it works in a smaller lineup. Ibaka is shooting 60.3 percent from the floor over his last five games but was held to six points on 3-of-7 shooting against the Nuggets on Wednesday.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Oklahoma City had a three-game winning streak in the series before falling last week.
2. Durant has scored 33 or more points in four of the last six games.
3. Paul’s 12 straight double-doubles to start the season surpasses Magic Johnson’s 11 from the 1990-91 campaign.