LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Clippers swept the 2015 “Hallway Series” 4-0 after defeating the lottery-bound Lakers 105-100 on Tuesday, less than 48 hours after beating them soundly on Easter Sunday.
It was the J.J. Redick show at Staples Center as the Duke alum finished with a game high 27 points with four three-pointers and reached the 20-point mark for the 23rd time this season.
“It’s clear if you watch enough, when the ball is moving J.J. gets shots,” said Clippers head coach Doc Rivers. “When the ball is not moving, he does not get shots. I think what out guys are doing every night … is when J.J. gets it going, then they make sure he gets shots. They do that through ball movement and I was really happy to see it tonight.”
Blake Griffin was also on his game as he too finished with 27 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. His performance was largely credited to the development of his mid-range jump shot, which Chris Paul believes makes the team much more dangerous come playoff time.
“It makes us very hard to guard,” Paul said. “A lot of teams would try to keep us on one side of the court, but you have to make a choice. If two players are going to guard me, then you are leaving Blake open. When Blake is shooting and passing well, it makes us that much more dangerous.”
His frontcourt teammate, DeAndre Jordan only had 8 points, but grabbed 17 rebounds and had three blocks.
Riding a 50-39 lead going into the second half, it seemed like another blowout similar to Sunday’s 106-78 laugher. Instead the Lakers stormed back in the third quarter and outscored the Clippers 30-26 to make it a 76-69 game.
Lakers point guard Jordan Clarkson scored 20 points and matched his first half point total with 10 points in the third quarter. Paul, matched Clarkson with 11 points of his own in the quarter and kept the team afloat. Paul finished with 19 points and 10 assists.
“Tonight we played better, competed hard and got great looks, but we just missed shots,” said Clarkson.
The Lakers carried their rally all the way to late in the fourth quarter after a hook shot by Robert Sacre made it an 89-88 game. It was the closest the Lakers had gotten in the game.
“I don’t think anyone had a great game, but our effort was greatly improved,” said Lakers head coach Byron Scott.
Tarik Black had his best game in a Lakers uniform with 16 points and nine rebounds. Wesley Johnson added 15 for the purple and gold.
The rally ended there. Redick hit a three point shot with 3:46 left in the fourth quarter and the Clippers distanced themselves from their inner-city rivals the rest of the game.
Game Notes:
The Clippers have now beaten the Lakers seven consecutive times, the longest winning streak by either team in the Hallway Series. Jamal Crawford returned for the Clippers after missing the past 17 games with a calf injury. The former 6th man of the year finished with four points.
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