Clippers put 7 in double figures, beat Nets
NEW YORK (AP) — If this is what the Los Angeles Clippers can do by keeping it simple, imagine the possibilities once they know their plays.
Lou Williams scored 20 points, DeAndre Jordan had 16 points and 17 rebounds, and they got plenty of help from a balanced lineup in a 114-101 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night.
Los Angeles put seven players in double figures and shot 56.5 percent from the field in its fourth win in five games, bouncing back nicely from a loss in Philadelphia.
Austin Rivers, who had 17 points, said even he was surprised with how easy the Clippers made it look, since they’ve had to slash their playbook in the aftermath of trading Blake Griffin to Detroit.
“I think a lot of people slept on us when we got all these players but I think we’re getting better and better,” he said.
Danilo Gallinari had 16 points and reserve Montrezl Harrell collected 15 points on 6-for-6 shooting. The Clippers made 19 of their first 26 shots and won for the 12th time in 17 games.
D’Angelo Russell and Joe Harris each scored 16 for the Nets, who dropped their sixth straight.
“We couldn’t stop them. We never found a solution to stopping them,” Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said. “They got downhill on us. We knew we had to keep them out of the paint and we never did. That was the story of the game. We couldn’t stop them.”
The Clippers are still adjusting to a different team after acquiring new starters Tobias Harris and Avery Bradley from the Pistons, and coach Doc Rivers said the Clippers were being careful not to call too many plays, since the new players hadn’t had enough time to learn them.
Whatever they did Monday worked just fine.
“Like I told them after the game, there will be a night where only two guys get big numbers and we win, and there’ll be nights where five, six, seven, eight guys will score in double figures and we win,” Doc Rivers said. “Doesn’t matter, as long as we win.”
The Clippers were 15 of 21 in the first quarter, building a 34-22 lead. They kept it up in the second, pushing the lead to 45-28 on consecutive layups by Harrell, who made all four shots in seven first-half minutes. Los Angeles led 66-51 at the break.
They had 90 points after three quarters and when the Nets cut it to nine in the fourth, the Clippers scored six straight to take a comfortable lead again.