For all those who balled out on this Saturday night (Kevin Hart: what-up), you made a nice choice.
The Clips led 29-26 after one, looking every bit the superior team. The Nets without Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Deron Williams, Brook Lopez, and Andrei Kirilenko seemed to have little fire power for anything but 3’s.
Nonetheless, the Clips got into a slump, trailing 54-44 with just over two minutes ’til halftime. Chris Paul cut it to four then stole the ball with 29 seconds left and passed it ahead to Blake Griffin for an and one. They closed it at halftime, 55-54 Nets lead.
The third quarter started to get out of control, too. It took five and a half minutes to score, on a free bee Byron Mullens putback. We couldn’t buy a bucket, burying ourselves early in double digits. J.J. Redick hit a major three to lower the lead to eight. Mullens drained a three, too, prompting a Nets timeout at 67-62.
Redick stopped and popped another deuce (don’t forget to wipe, G). At the other end, Mason Plumlee appeared to have an easy lay up until Griffin blocked it, then ran the other way for a trailing AND ONE! He tied it.
Next, it was the Nets who came unraveled. Redick launched and connected on another triple try for a 70-67 lead. After another Griffin hoop, the Nets called timeout down five.
The Nets recovered to close out the quarter on a mini-run, hitting a three at the buzzer to only trail one point.
The Clippers started the 4th quarter on a mission.
Mullens made another three on the opening possession. It didn’t get tight until under five minutes to play when Joe Johnson’s jumper brought Brooklyn within one, 93-92.
After Paul missed a close shot, the Nets gave the ball back to LA with an offensive foul. Redick promptly made another triple. A few plays later, Shaun Livingston, the former Clippers’ lottery pick, made a driving dunk to take the lead down to three.
The next shot was likely the game’s biggest. Paul made a huge shot from downtown to give the Clippers a 100-94 edge with just over two minutes remaining.
DeAndre Jordan made some clutch free throws to ice it. The Clips led the entire fourth quarter, winning 110-103.
Jordan hauled in 16 boards. Griffin scored 30 on 12-19 shots with 12 rebounds. Redick scored 26, tying a season-high. Paul dished out 13 assists to go with seven boards and three steals.