Stephenson has been a playmaker
which they had been outscored while on the court.
Clippers center DeAndre Jordan was strong in multiple areas with 12 points, 18 rebounds and three blocks, and Jamal Crawford scored 20 points on eight- for- 14 shooting off the bench, his third consecutive game with at least 20 points and fourth in his last five games.
It still probably wasn’t going to be enough after Clippers reserve guard Pablo Prigioni crouched in visible discomfort behind a basket during the f inal seconds of the third quarter, unable to continue playing because of a bruised face. Backup guard Austin Rivers had been in the locker room since tipoff, his throbbing left hand heavily bandaged.
That made Clippers Coach Doc Rivers seem clairvoyant after he had declared last week that he believed Stephenson would help the team. Did he ever.
Stephenson thrived while playing most of the fourth quarter alongside Paul, Crawford, Wesley Johnson and Jordan. He has now made 19 of 23 shots ( 82.6%) over his last f ive games, the best stretch of that length in his six NBA seasons.
“We’re using him more as a ballhandler so he can create offense and he doesn’t really care to score,” Doc Rivers said. “He wants to make plays, and that’s been good for us.”
Austin Rivers sat out the game because of a bone bruise on his left hand suffered during an unfortunate sequence Wednesday against the Minnesota Timberwolves in which he also got two technical fouls and was ejected.
Rivers wore a black wrapping around his hand, which he described as “incredibly painful.” He said he hoped to play against the Miami Heat on Sunday, and Doc Rivers said he hoped Prigioni could return by then as well.
The Clippers ( 33- 17) keep winning no matter who is on the court. They improved to 17- 4 since Blake Griffin was sidelined Dec. 26, the fourthbest record in the NBA over that stretch.
Victor Oladipo had 18 points for the Magic, which made only four of 20 threepointers and never seemed to recover after Stephenson’s shot to end the third quarter.
Stephenson acknowledged the difficulties in playing sparingly for most of the season after the Clippers traded for him last summer. He said teammate Paul Pierce had helped keep him from falling into a mental funk.
“As soon as he sees me getting out of focus,” Stephenson said of the veteran forward, “he’ll be like, ‘ Hey man, what [ are] you doing? Just get back to [ being] level- headed and keep playing ball.’ ”
Stephenson has been collected as needed, with the possible exception of one quote.