Redick, Paul lead Clippers past shorthanded Heat
LOS ANGELES -- J.J. Redick scored 25 points, and the Los Angeles Clippers coasted to a 98-86 victory over the shorthanded Miami Heat on Sunday at Staples Center
Chris Paul added 19 points, 18 assists and six rebounds for the Clippers (26-14), who won their fourth in a row. The number of assists allowed Paul to top 8,000 career assists. Paul now has 8,012.
Marreese Speights delivered 19 points off the bench for Los Angeles. Brandon Bass contributed 12 points.
Clippers guard Austin Rivers missed the contest with flu.
Goran Dragic led the Heat (11-28) with 24 points. Hassan Whiteside, who returned after missing four games with a right retinal contusion, chipped in 15 points and 13 rebounds for Miami. Miami's Tyler Johnson and James Johnson scored 12 points apiece.
The Heat were without Josh Richardson (left foot sprain) and Luke Babbitt (flu).
Despite being without two starters, the Heat stayed within striking range for much of the first half. However, a late flourish by the Clippers allowed them to take a 52-39 advantage at the break.
Los Angeles outscored Miami 32-20 in the second quarter. Redick scored eight of his 15 first-half points in the quarter.
In the third, the Clippers increased their lead to as much as 23 before the Heat cut it to 76-66 on a bucket inside by Dragic. But a basket by Bass and a Bass steal leading to a layup by Redick in the final seven seconds of the third boosted the Clippers to an 80-66 edge heading into the fourth.
A 9-2 surge to open the fourth pushed the margin to 21 points and helped the Clippers seal the outcome.
Heat guard Dion Waiters was ejected with 3:09 left in the third quarter for a flagrant 2 foul after throwing an elbow to the back of Redick's head. Waiters finished with eight points in 15 minutes.
The Clippers limited the Heat to 36.9 percent shooting while making 41.9 percent of their attempts.
NOTES: Miami C Willie Reed, who started in the absence of injured C Hassan Whiteside, was averaging 16.7 points, 11 rebounds and 2.33 blocks in the three previous games. Reed shot 64.9 percent. ... Los Angeles C DeAndre Jordan ranked second to Dwight Howard for most career games with 20 or more rebounds by active players. Jordan had 35 to Howard's 73 before Sunday's game. ... The Clippers are 7-7 without injured F Blake Griffin (right knee surgery). Last season, they were 31-16. ... Miami players missed 148 games prior to the contest, the most in the NBA. ... The Heat visit the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday. ... The Clippers host the Orlando Magic on Wednesday.