Clippers 103, Bucks 90
LOS ANGELES -- Point guard Chris Paul had 21 points, eight assists and five rebounds and guard J.J. Redick contributed 19 points, and the Los Angeles Clippers coasted to a 103-90 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks at Staples Center on Wednesday night.
Forward Blake Griffin added 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists for the Clippers (16-10), who have won nine of their last 11 contests. Forward Josh Smith came off the bench to score 13 points for Los Angeles.
Guards Michael Carter-Williams and O.J. Mayo each scored 17 points to pace the Bucks (10-17), who lost their 11th consecutive road game. Forwards Khris Middleton and Jabari Parker had 15 and 14 points, respectively.
Milwaukee played again without center/forward Greg Monroe, who sat out his second straight game after an MRI revealed a medial collateral sprain in his left knee.
Meanwhile, Clippers center DeAndre Jordan was tossed by referee Marc Davis at 6:49 of the third quarter after Jordan pursued Davis from one end of the court to the other to protest a call. Jordan had nine points and eight rebounds in 18 minutes before departing. The Clippers, though, didn't miss him much.
They led by double digits for much of the second half before the Bucks made a run in the final quarter. Milwaukee pulled within seven on three occasions in the fourth but failed to get any closer.
Shooting boosted Los Angeles to a 54-43 cushion at the break. The Clippers outshot the Bucks 51.4 percent to 41.3 in the first half and converted four of eight 3-pointers to two of eight for Milwaukee. Overall, the Clippers made 48 percent of their shots compared to 43.2 for the Bucks.
Clippers forward Paul Pierce topped 26,000 points for his career. Pierce hit a step-back jumper at the end of the first quarter to reach the mark. The 16th all-time leading scorer, Pierce trailed Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Garnett, his former teammate with the Boston Celtics, by 23 points entering Wednesday's game. Pierce finished with six points against Milwaukee.
NOTES: Bucks coach Jason Kidd altered his starting lineup with C/F Greg Monroe (left knee MCL sprain) out for the second game in a row. Kidd used C Miles Plumlee, who started for Monroe, and G Michael Carter-Williams, who replaced F Giannis Antetokounmpo, with G O.J. Mayo, F Khris Middleton and F Jabari Parker. ... F Luc Mbah a Moute continues to receive praise from Clippers coach Doc Rivers despite his limited offensive production as a starter. "Luc is just good. He's a great defensive player," Rivers said. Mbah a Moute was averaging 1.7 points and 1.7 rebounds per game before Wednesday. ... Milwaukee visits the Golden State Warriors on Friday. ... Los Angeles hits the road for back-to-back contests against the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets on Friday and Saturday.