Clippers beat Celtics in Rivers' return to Boston

Published Dec. 11, 2013 6:02 p.m. ET

foxsports

BOSTON (AP) -- Jamal Crawford hit a pair of
3-pointers 23 seconds apart to help the Clippers pull away in the last 3
minutes and former Celtics coach Doc Rivers won his first game back in
Boston when Los Angeles beat the Celtics 96-88 Wednesday night.

Crawford came off the bench to score 21
points and Chris Paul had 22 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.
Blake Griffin scored 18 points for the Clippers, who won for the seventh
time in 10 games.

Jeff Green scored 29 points against his
former coach, who was traded to Los Angeles last summer for a
first-round draft pick. Jordan Crawford had 20 points and nine assists,
and Brandon Bass had 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Celtics, who lost
their second in a row.

Boston lost to the Brooklyn Nets on
Tuesday night, kicking off a reunion week of sorts by facing former
Celtics Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. One night later, Rivers returned
to the TD Garden, where the banner for the franchise's unprecedented
17th NBA title hangs from the rafters.

Rivers got a standing ovation when he
walked onto the court for warm-ups, another healthy cheer when he was
introduced and a bigger one after a video on the scoreboard ended with,
"Thank you, Doc!"

"I'm an emotional guy," Rivers said beforehand. "I just hope I can coach tonight."

Rivers did just fine, getting 34 points
from his bench to just four for Boston's. The Celtics led by as many as
nine points in the first half, but the Clippers erased it in a
back-and-forth third quarter in which the lead changed hands five times.

Los Angeles led 73-71 midway through the
fourth quarter when Darren Collison scored six straight points. The
Clippers had an 85-83 lead with under 3 minutes when Crawford made
back-to-back 3 pointers. Boston cut it to five, but never got closer.

The Celtics opened a nine-point lead
late in the half, but took a 45-39 lead into the break. The teams traded
leads in the third quarter, which ended with the Clippers ahead 66-64.

NOTES:
DeAndre Jordan caused a jump ball in the first half when he tried a
slam dunk but got it caught between the rim and the backboard. ... The
Clippers continue reunion week Thursday night when Rivers faces his
former Celtics players Garnett and Pierce in Brooklyn. ... Clippers F
Antawn Jamison scored his 20,000th point. He is one of 20 players in NBA
history to have 20,000 points along with 8,000 rebounds and 1,000
assists. ... The Celtics got their first points from the bench with 2
minutes left in the third quarter on a Gerald Wallace layup. ... Boston F
Kris Humphries sat out with a bruised right knee.