Clippers 122, Wizards 101
Blake Griffin scored all 26 of his points in the first half as the surging Los Angeles Clippers rolled to a 122-101 victory over the host Washington Wizards on Saturday night featuring a battle of the last two overall No. 1 picks.
Griffin, the top pick two years ago, scored 16 points in the first quarter as the Clippers jumped to a 38-27 lead and never trailed thereafter. He was 8 of 17 from the floor and 10 of 11 from the line in 27 minutes. Mo Williams added 22 points and six assists as the Clippers (26-41) won for the fifth time in six games.
John Wall, the first pick in last year’s draft, had 25 points, eight assists and seven rebounds for the Wizards (16-48), who have lost three straight and 10 of 11.
Los Angeles led by as many as 19 in the second quarter and maintained a double-digit lead until Wall scored on a layup and rookie Jordan Crawford canned two free throws to cut Washington’s deficit to 64-55 at the half.
Wall scored six points early in the third to trim the deficit to four, but Williams started a 15-2 run with a 3-pointer, two free throws and a fadeaway jumper, and capped it with two more foul shots to rebuild a 83-67 lead with 3:30 left in the quarter.
Los Angeles led by 18 after the third and by as many as 27 in the fourth.