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Friday, November 22, 2013

NBA Recap: Clippers at Thunder


Chris Paul and Blake Griffin both extended their double-double streaks, but a win would have been better.

Griffin scored 27 points on 12-for-23 shooting; his 10 rebounds puts him at six straight double-doubles. He's also notched a 20-10 stat line in 10 of the last 12 games.

But Los Angles sputtered out of the gates.

The Clippers missed their first seven shots, allowing the Thunder to pull ahead early. Griffin recorded only six points in the first half due to Oklahoma City's suffocating interior defense. Griffin and DeAndre Jordan were blocked a combined five times tonight - three coming from Serge Ibaka. Ibaka and Steven Adams tallied three rebounds each and shot a combined 10-for-15 from the field.

Adams also made for a nice GIF after Byron Mullens ignored his high five:


The Thunder were up the entire game.

The closest LA came was within six points and couldn't match OKC's overall energy.

58 of Oklahoma City's 105 points were in the paint, versus 32 for Los Angeles. 

The new big three of Kevin DurantRussell Westbrook and Ibaka went 23-for-42 from the field. The Clippers defense has to improve if they want to be in the same conversation as contenders like the Thunder.

Los Angeles shot 41.3% and 28.6% from the field and three-point line, respectively.

Griffin and Paul played well, both shooting over 50% from the field. Paul led a rally at the start of the fourth quarter but OKC quickly responded. They scored seven straight points, marking their largest lead of the game at the point.

It was smooth sailing from there.

OKC avenged their 111-103 loss in Los Angeles on November 13.
The Clippers are now 8-5, good enough for the sixth best record in the Western Conference. They host the Utah Jazz on Sunday November 24 for their next game.

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