LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Blake Griffin had 30
points and 12 rebounds, J.J. Redick added 26 points and the Los Angeles
Clippers rallied to beat the short-handed Brooklyn Nets 110-103 Saturday
night, improving to 5-0 at home.
DeAndre Jordan had 16 rebounds, Chris
Paul added 12 points and 13 assists, and Jamal Crawford had seven of his
13 points in the fourth for the Clippers, who kept the Nets winless
against them in Los Angeles since Nov. 15, 2010.
The Nets played without injured starters
Kevin Garnett, Brook Lopez, Paul Pierce and Deron Williams, leaving Joe
Johnson as the only regular in the lineup.
Still, the Clippers had to hold off an
inspired bunch of subs who were coming off an overtime win at Phoenix a
night earlier.
Andray Blatche and Mason Plumlee scored
19 points each, and Alan Anderson had 15 for the Nets, who fell to 1-5
on the road under rookie coach Jason Kidd.
The anticipated reunion of new Los
Angeles coach Doc Rivers and his former Boston stars Garnett and Pierce
was scuttled. Neither of the Nets players was at the game. The trio
teamed to lead the Celtics to the 2008 NBA championship.
Byron Mullens and Crawford hit
3-pointers early in the fourth, when the Clippers led by six. The Nets
got within three points three times before Johnson's jump hook cut their
deficit to 93-92 with 4:12 left.
Redick and Paul sandwiched 3-pointers around a free throw by Griffin to stay ahead, 100-94.
Johnson's running bank shot pulled the
Nets to 104-101 with 36 seconds to go, but Jordan dunked and the
Clippers finished the game off at the line.
Brooklyn opened the third with 10 straight points, including back-to-back 3-pointers by Anderson, to go up 65-54.
The Clippers staged a furious rally,
outscoring the Nets 20-2 in a run that had three 3-pointers -- two by
Redick and another from Mullens -- for their first lead, 74-67, since
the end of the opening quarter.
Redick scored 10 points and Mullens and Griffin added five each.
Griffin blocked Plumlee at Brooklyn's
end and scored at the other end, getting fouled and hitting the free
throw. Paul tossed up an alley-oop that Griffin threw down to ignite the
sellout crowd.
But the Nets closed with a 9-2 spurt to trail 76-75 going into the fourth.
The Nets led 55-54 at halftime after
blowing nearly all of a 10-point lead while being outscored 10-1 over
the final 2:12. Paul scored five straight points and his steal led to a
fast-break layup by Griffin, who got fouled and made the free throw.
NOTES:
Garnett and Lopez have ankle injuries; Pierce has a groin injury; and
Williams sprained his left ankle in Friday night's overtime win at
Phoenix. Reserve F Andrei Kirilenko was out with back spasms. ... In the
Nets' six losses, they've been outscored in the paint. The Clippers had
a 44-38 edge. ... Paul has had at least 10 points and 10 assists in 10
straight games to start the season. ... Nets F Reggie Evans had 11
rebounds against his old team. ... Former Clipper Shaun Livingston had
11 points.
