Clippers 105, Nets 100
BROOKLYN, N.Y. -- The Los Angeles Clippers scored inside and out and nearly led wire to wire for their first-ever win in Brooklyn, defeating the Nets 105-100 on Saturday at Barclays Center.
Guard J.J. Redick and forward Blake Griffin (nine rebounds) scored 21 points apiece to pace the Clippers, whose only other road win against the Nets came in East Rutherford, N.J., on Dec. 11, 2007.
Guard Chris Paul had 15 points and 14 assists and center DeAndre Jordan added 12 points and 12 boards for his 13th points-rebounds double-double of the season (tied for second in the NBA).
Forward Thaddeus Young scored 18 points, guard Jarrett Jack had 16 points, 11 assists and five rebounds, guard Bojan Bogdanovic and forward Joe Johnson had 15 points apiece, and center Brook Lopez added 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Nets (7-16).
Brooklyn entered the game having won six of its last seven games at home.
The Clippers had their largest lead on a 22-foot jumper by forward Josh Smith with 10:07 left. The Nets rallied late and three times pulled within two points in the final four minutes.
But each time, the Clippers had the response, whether it was a floater by Paul or a driving dunk by Griffin, who also hit a foul-line jumper with 49 seconds left to extend LA's lead to 101-95.
The Clippers (14-10), who have won four of its last five games, went inside early, with Jordan and Griffin wowing the crowd with thunderous dunks and alley-oops. A dunk putback by Jordan capped an 8-0 run to give Los Angeles a 22-15 lead in the first quarter.
The Clippers then went outside to burn the Nets. Forward Paul Pierce torched his former team with eight of his 10 points off the bench in the first half, including back-to-back 3-pointers to give Los Angeles a 42-26 lead, its largest of the first half.
Redick continued the onslaught, going 3 of 4 from 3-point range in the first half, including a bomb from the top of the key to give the Clippers a 55-40 lead with 46.4 seconds left in the second quarter.
Coming off their worst shooting performance of the year (34.1 percent from the floor in an 83-80 loss in Chicago), Los Angeles shot 55.8 percent from the field, going 7-of-15 from 3-point range in the first half.
Brooklyn shot 37.5 percent from the floor and knocked down just 1 of 8 attempts from beyond the arc.
The Nets could only get as close as 59-51 in the third quarter on a floater by Johnson. Jordan responded with a putback dunk, and when Redick dropped his fourth 3-pointer of the game, the Clippers' lead was back to 66-53.
NOTES: The game was a homecoming for Clippers F Lance Stephenson, a Brooklyn native who played at Lincoln HS in Coney Island. Clippers coach Doc Rivers was asked if he was concerned about Stephenson's emotions playing in his hometown. "Listen, he had a big hat on today so I don't know what that means," Rivers said. "Maybe he's going to be a cowboy, who knows? It's good. We need his energy. His energy is good for our team. I hope be brings positive energy tonight." ... Rivers was a little confused about the rather unique 5 p.m. ET start time. Initially he said he thought it was 5 p.m. on the west coast, but was told a few days ago that wasn't the case. "I'm not used to it, but it's kind of nice because you can go to dinner after a game," Rivers said. "That's nice." ... Out for Brooklyn are G Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (fractured right ankle) and F Chris McCullough (right knee rehab). ... The Nets continue a six-game homestand against Orlando on Monday. ... The Clippers play the final game of a five-game road trip in Detroit on Monday.