Clippers win 16th Straight in Utah 116-114
The Los Angeles Clippers have showed they can come from behind and can win a close game now. In their 15 game win streak, most of the wins have been rather easy ones for the Clippers. Many have wondered how the Clippers would respond to getting punched in the mouth. Well, the Clippers were punched against the Utah Jazz on Friday night, getting down by 10 at the half. That deficit grew to 19 early in the third quarter but the Clippers came storming back to win the game 116-114 to extend their streak to 16 games.
Chris Paul led the Clippers with 29 points and Blake Griffin added 22 as the Clippers improved to 24-6 on the season. The Jazz, who will face the Clippers again on Sunday, were led by former Clipper Randy Foye who scored 28 points and Al Jefferson who had 22. The Jazz fell to 15-16. Two of the Clippers wins during the streak have been at Utah. In the first game they were down by 14 and rallied to win.
In other NBA action Friday, the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Portland Trail Blazers 104-87. Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 27 points breaking a streak of ten straight 30 point games. The streak was snapped because he sat out the entire fourth quarter in the blowout. Dwight Howard had 21 points and 14 rebounds as the Lakers improved to 15-15 while the Blazers dropped to 14-14.
The Washington Wizards got a rare win as they beat the Orlando Magic 105-97. Jordan Crawford led the Wizards with 27 points as they snapped an eight game losing streak with the win. The loss was the second straight embarrassing loss for the Magic who saw the New Orleans Hornets snap an 11 game skid against them on Wednesday. The Magic has lost all four games since Glen Davis went down to a shoulder injury the last time the Wizards and Magic got together before Friday.
The Atlanta Hawks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 102-94. Jeff Teague led he Hawks with 27 points, Lou Williams had 16 points and Al Horford added 14. The Hawks are now 18-9 and have won three straight. The Cavaliers fell to 7-24. The Hawks outscored the Cavs in the fourth quarter 27-14 after being down 80-75 at the end of three.
The Sacramento Kings pulled off an upset over the New York Knicks 106-105. James Johnson hit a three pointer at the buzzer, his first of the season to beat the Atlantic Division leaders. The Knicks fought their way back from a 27 point deficit to find themselves in the lead 105-103 until the last play. Marcus Thornton led the Kings with 18 points whole Johnson added 17. The Kings improved to 10-19 while the Knicks dropped to 21-9.
The Toronto Raptors beat the New Orleans Hornets 104-97 in overtime. Demar DeRozan led the Raptors with 30 points as they improved to 10-20. Te
