The surging Los Angeles Clippers shrugged off the absence of forward Blake Griffin and centre DeAndre Jordan by easing to a 104-90 victory over the Miami Heat at Staples Centre on Wednesday. Cole Aldrich had a game-high 19 points, with Pierce, Paul and Jamal Crawford all scoring 15 each.
Advertisement
That meant the Clippers were without Jordan and Blake Griffin, who missed his ninth consecutive game with a partially torn quad tendon.
Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan has been scratched Wednesday night against Miami because of pneumonia, ending the NBA’s longest active consecutive games streak at 360.
Gerald Green scored 19 to lead the Heat, Dwyane Wade scored 16 and Chris Bosh had 11 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists.
If they were lucky to face the Heat while Miami is deep into a six-game trip, had to play without injured guard Goran Dragic and has slid into a 1-4 slump, every team has injuries and slumps and the Clippers simply played the hand they were dealt – and played it well.
Los Angeles Clippers’ Cole Aldrich, left, dunks past Miami Heat’s Justise Winslow during the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2016, in Los Angeles.
If the first nine victories in their winning streak were games the Clippers were supposed to win, those games still served an important goal in allowing them to experiment with their rotation and refine their defensive play. Los Angeles (26-13) rallied despite shooting only 39.2 percent to 52.5 percent for the Heat. They trailed by as many as 11 point in the first half and were down by seven at halftime. Overall, the Clippers are 21-8 when the five-time All-Star has sat out due to injury or suspension – including a 9-6 mark last season.
The Clippers opened the third quarter with a 24-5 spurt, which included a 13-0 run, for a 69-57 advantage after an Aldrich hook shot with 6:11 left.
They outscored Miami in the third quarter, 34-17.
The winning streak is the Clippers’ third of 10 or more games during the past four seasons. “He kept saying, “We”re going to win this game.””.
Pablo Prigioni had just two points for the Clippers, but made a whopping eight steals in not quite 15 minutes; the team had 18.
Coach Doc Rivers admitted that because both Griffin and Jordan missed this one, emerging victorious was particularly gratifying. At the end of the 1st quarter, the Heat shot 47% compared to the Clippers 32%. “I thought even the thought of it was ludicrous – but not him”. Aldrich, who’s career high in games played for a season is 61, said what Jordan’s accomplished is unbelievable. The last time Jordan was out with pneumonia, he only missed two games on March 20 and March 23, 2011, and despite the nightly demands at his position, he hadn’t missed a game since. “He’s a crafty, veteran player”, said Rivers, who holds the Clippers single-game record of nine.
Advertisement
Miami, which is spending most of January on the road, has a Friday night meeting in Denver next on the schedule, with tipoff set for just after 9 p.m. ET. As nice as this was, Jordan should be ready to roll on Saturday against the Kings.
