Griffin lifts Clippers vs. Bulls
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Blake Griffin scored 12 of his 26 points in the final six minutes and grabbed 10 rebounds, helping the Los Angeles Clippers rout the Chicago Bulls 101-80 on Saturday night for their fifth straight victory.
Reserve Jamal Crawford scored 17 of his 22 points in the second quarter for the Clippers, who lead the Pacific Division with a 7-2 mark. It’s their best record after nine games since 2005-06, when they won nine of their first 11, finished 47-35 and came within one victory of the Western Conference finals.
Five of the Clippers’ six wins have come against teams that were in the playoffs last season, including the Lakers, Spurs and champions Miami Heat on Wednesday.
Crawford, who signed with Los Angeles as a free agent in July after spending last season with Portland, leads the Clippers with 20.7 points per game and has scored 20 or more in six of his first nine contests.
The Bulls, who blew an 18-point lead in their previ- ous game on Wednesday at Phoenix before beating the Suns 112-106 in overtime, got 22 points and 12 rebounds from Carlos Boozer. Luol Deng and Richard Hamilton each had 14 points.
Joakim Noah, who has been urged by Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau to take more shots, was 0 for 6 from the field and finished with four points in 30 minutes. It was the 6-foot-11 center’s worst shooting effort in 339 NBA regularseason games, including six occasions when he was 0 for 4.