Griffin paces Clippers to win over spiraling Hornets
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Blake Griffin narrowly missed his second triple-double of the week with 20 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the free-falling Charlotte Hornets 107-102 on Saturday night at the Spectrum Center.
Griffin had stretches where he dominated the game and finished just two assists short of his sixth career triple-double. He was well on pace but went without an assist in the fourth quarter. He had 26 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists against Toronto on Monday.
The Clippers (33-21) won their second straight and further distanced themselves from a recent stretch where they lost five of six.
Jamal Crawford led the Clippers with 22 points, hitting five 3-pointers. Austin Rivers scored 18 and DeAndre Jordan had 16 rebounds.
The Hornets (24-30) have now lost nine of their last 10.
Nicolas Batum led the Hornets with 25 points. Frank Kaminsky scored 20, Marco Belinelli 17, Jeremy Lamb 13 and Kemba Walker 10. Walker was just 4 of 18 from the field and 1 of 9 from 3-point range.
The Hornets raced to an 11-2 lead and pushed it to 19-8, but the Clippers responded with an 11-0 run and eventually led 29-27 after one quarter. The Clippers went on to lead by nine in the second quarter but settled for a 53-51 halftime lead.
The Clippers led 77-70 after three quarters.
They pushed the lead to 82-71 early in the fourth before the Hornets started chipping away at the lead. Charlotte never got closer than three, though, and Griffin's rebound dunk with 44.7 seconds left pushed the lead to 102-97. Ultimately, two free throws by J.J. Redick with 5.9 seconds left pushed the lead to five again and sealed it.
NOTES: This was the first of two meetings between the Hornets and Clippers this season. They will meet again in Los Angeles on Feb. 26. The Clippers swept the Hornets in both 2015-16 and 2014-15. ... The Clippers were without PG Chris Paul (thumb) and F Brice Johnson (back). ... The Hornets were without G Ramon Sessions (knee) and C Cody Zeller (quad). Zeller returned Thursday night against Houston after missing the previous seven games, and he promptly re-injured himself. ... The Clippers were playing the fourth game on a five-game trip. They won at New York 119-115 on Wednesday. ... The Hornets were playing the third game on a four-game homestand. They lost to Houston 107-95 on Thursday. ... Hornets PG Kemba Walker received his All-Star jersey in a ceremony before the game. ... The Clippers will close out their trip on Monday at Utah. ... The Hornets will close out their homestand on Monday against Philadelphia. Then comes a seven-game trip.