Blake Griffin's strong second half powers Clippers

LOS ANGELES >> Clippers coach Doc Rivers had the luxury of resting his starters on Sunday against the Dallas Mavericks but elected not to. And with the exception of J.J. Redick, the starters struggled in the first half. None more than Blake Griffin, who went 1-for-6 from the field to open the game.

But Griffin effectively recovered from that slow start and made up for it in the second, nearly amassing a triple-double. Griffin capitalized on key possessions that helped the Clippers push the game out of reach in an 98-91 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday at Staples Center.

The Clippers (53-28) won their fifth straight game and remain in fourth place in the Weste Conference. The Mavericks’ wiing streak was halted at six games and Dallas (41-40) continues to chase a playoff spot.

It’s safe to say, Blake is back.

Griffin finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. His 17 points were the most since Dec. 19, at the Houston Rockets.

The Mavericks kept it close in the first half but Redick and Jamal Crawford gave the Clippers the edge they needed to pull ahead and the half up by two points. Redick scored 20 points going 4-for-4 from three-point range. Crawford further bolstered his campaign for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award, coming off the bench for 22 points, scoring more than 20 in a reserve roll for the 167th time in his career, most among all active players.

The Clippers then dominated the third quarter, thanks in part to Griffin.

Dallas shot just 16.7 percent from the field and an even worse 1-for-9 from behind the arc in the third quarter while Los Angeles executed on both ends of the floor, bullying Dallas on the glass and exposing them in the paint.

Spurred by Griffin, the Clippers used a 14-2 run in the third quarter to go up by nine points at 6:06.

The Mavericks made a strong push in the fourth quarter, finally regaining some rhythm behind the arc again and getting into the paint when they needed to. But Griffin could do no wrong in the second half, even making a circus shot between two defenders and the free throw with 3:28 left to play that put L.A. up by eight.

After Raymond Felton hit two free throws to bring Dallas within six, Griffin found Crawford who drained a three to put the Clippers back up by nine. It was Griffin’s seventh assist and L.A. would lead by no less than nine the rest of the game.

The Clippers have two games left and will play the home finale on Tuesday against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Advertisement