Nets at Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers are taking advantage of a lengthy stay at home to continue their push toward a Western Conference playoff spot. They'll try to continue their surge at the Staples Center when the Brooklyn Nets pay a visit Sunday night.
Los Angeles is 6-1 in its last seven games and 3-1 thus far on the six-game homestand after a 128-121 victory over Chicago on Friday, which has the team a half-game out of seventh place in the West and six games up on ninth-place Sacramento. "I like the way we responded," Clippers coach Doc Rivers told reporters after his team utilized a 45-point third quarter to seize control against the Bulls. "We didn't play well in the first half but we were terrific in the third. That starting group really set the tone which was great." The Nets opened a seven-game road trip - their longest of the season - with back-to-back losses at Oklahoma City and Utah. D'Angelo Russell was the lone starter to score in double figures in the 114-98 loss to the Jazz, finishing with 20 points on 8-of-25 shooting, as Brooklyn dropped into seventh in the East, a half-game back of Detroit.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, YES (Brooklyn), FS Prime Ticket (Los Angeles)
ABOUT THE NETS (36-35): Brooklyn held an early eight-point lead at Utah before the hosts put together a 27-2 run spanning the first and second quarters to take charge. Guard Caris LeVert returned to the starting lineup after five straight games on the bench but was 3-for-12 from the floor, leaving him 6-for-22 on the trip. The Nets shot 34.7 percent, their worst showing in a road game since April 12, 2017.
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (40-30): Danilo Gallinari was questionable for Friday's game with an ankle injury but was able to suit up and showed no ill effects from the injury, scoring 27 points on 10-of-14 shooting. The 30-year-old hit all four of his 3-point tries and is 16-for-25 from beyond the arc over a five-game span, during which he's averaging 25.8 points. Guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has also been on the mark from the perimeter by making 10-of-14 triples in March.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Gallinari scored 28 points on 9-of-14 from the floor to lead the Clippers to a 127-119 win at Brooklyn earlier this season.
2. Nets SF Allen Crabbe (knee) sat out Saturday's loss while PG Shabazz Napier (hamstring) missed his second straight game.
3. Los Angeles has won seven straight meetings at home.