Clippers at Nets
Andrea Bargnani was having a hard time establishing himself as a key member of the Brooklyn Nets rotation in his first season with the club before breaking out on Thursday. Bargnani will try to put together two solid performances in a row when the Nets host the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday.
The former No. 1 overall draft pick missed four straight games with a hamstring injury but returned at just the right time Thursday, when starting center Brook Lopez was battling foul trouble. Bargnani came off the bench and delivered 13 of his season-high 23 points in the fourth quarter as Brooklyn secured a 100-91 victory over visiting Philadelphia – its sixth win in the last seven home games. The Clippers won the first two stops of a five-game road trip but stumbled at Chicago on Thursday while matching a season low in scoring in an 83-80 setback. That marked the second loss in eight games for Los Angeles, which averaged 104.7 points in the previous seven contests.
TV: 5 p.m. ET, Prime Ticket (Los Angeles), YES (Brooklyn)
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (13-10): Los Angeles shot 34.1 percent from the field at Chicago as the backcourt quartet of Chris Paul, J.J. Redick, Austin Rivers and Jamal Crawford combined to go 9-of-38. Redick was appearing in his third game since returning from an ankle sprain and is still looking for some consistency with his shot. The veteran sharpshooter poured in 31 points on 11-of-18 shooting in a 109-95 win at Milwaukee on Wednesday but combined to go 3-of-20 against Minnesota and Chicago.
ABOUT THE NETS (7-15): Brooklyn trailed by two points heading into the fourth quarter on Thursday but outscored the 76ers 30-17 in the final period as point guard Shane Larkin and Bargnani led the way off the bench. Larkin played all 12 minutes of the period and contributed eight of his 14 points in the decisive stanza. The former first-round pick has lifted his play of late and is averaging 9.2 points on 50 percent shooting, 5.2 assists and 2.4 steals in five games this month.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Clippers F and former Net Paul Pierce totaled one point in 26 minutes over the last four games.
2. Brooklyn F Thaddeus Young is averaging 20.3 points and 12 rebounds in four straight double-doubles.
3. The home team has taken nine straight in the series.