Clippers 102, Celtics 93
Blake Griffin scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds as host Los Angeles held on in the second half to defeat Boston.
DeAndre Jordan had 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting to go along with 12 boards for the Clippers, who snapped a two-game home losing streak. J.J. Redick and Jamal Crawford added 16 points apiece.
Brandon Bass scored 17 points and Marcus Thornton had 10 of his 15 in the fourth quarter to lead a 59-point showing by the Celtics' reserves. Marcus Smart made four 3-pointers en route to 14 points and added a team-high seven assists for Boston, which has dropped 12 of 15.
The Celtics were held to one field goal over the first seven minutes of the game in falling behind 15-4, but rallied to within four points on Kelly Olynyk's basket early in the second quarter. Crawford's 3-pointer in the closing seconds put the Clippers up 47-37 at the break and the gap grew to as large as 23 in the third before Bass had the final seven points of the period to get Boston within 74-62.
Smart made two 3-pointers amid a flurry of scoring early in the fourth to make it an eight-point game and Thornton hit a jumper and then a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 91-88 with under four minutes on the clock. The Celtics finally went cold and Spencer Hawes' layup highlighted a decisive 8-1 burst that gave Los Angeles enough of cushion to survive.
GAME NOTEBOOK: F Tayshaun Prince, recently acquired in a three-team trade, saw his first action with the Celtics, scoring two points in 19 minutes. ... PF Jared Sullinger had 14 points and eight rebounds to lead Boston's starters, who shot 11-of-38. ... Jordan also had six of the Clippers' 10 blocked shots.