Against the Philadelphia 76ers, the Los Angeles Clippers didn’t even need Blake Griffin for their offense to go crazy and score 130 points.
Scoring 130 points in an NBA game is normally quite an achievement. If you can consistently score high-percentage shots in the paint or your team just catches fire from three through every quarter, it’s still incredibly hard to do. Yet, even though the Los Angeles Clippers did just that on Saturday night in a 99-130 win, it wasn’t quite as impressive seeing as the lowly Philadelphia 76ers were the opponent.
In fairness to the 76ers, though, they have gone 2-2 since acquiring Ish Smith from the New Orleans Pelicans for two second round draft picks. They’ve taken down the Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings over the last week, so at least there is more than one win in their record.
However, as was obviously going to be the case for the league’s worst team, they were no match for the Clippers. Even while Blake Griffin is out with injury, they were still never going to out-score such a potent offense, especially with the bench making shots.
Knowing that their opponents weren’t exactly of contending calibre, it was clear the Clippers came out the gate wanting to push the pace. Wesley Johnson got going quickly by burying a three after the first few minutes to give L.A. the lead, and Chris Paul followed by hitting another three after moving the ball up the court in a hurry.
What was the Clippers’ next score? A thunderous, reverse alley-oop to DeAndre Jordan sent in from CP3 from behind the arc.
"Chris Paul with the dish to DJ last night!"
It wasn’t hard to see that the Clippers’ offense could have its way with the 76ers’ weak defense, but Philly kept being aggressive and went toe-to-toe early on. In fact, they held a lead until Austin Rivers hit a three at the last second to win the first quarter 31-29.
The score actually remained fairly close during most of the first half. Until Paul started penetrating with ease and creating easy opportunities for Jordan to throw it down, the 76ers kept at their heels. With that late first half surge, though, the Clippers scored 38 in the second quarter to have 69 by half time. Then, with another flurry of scoring with 34 in the third, they ended up finishing the game with 130.
Clippers have now won 31 straight games in which they've shot 50 percent or better from 3-point range. Longest active streak in NBA
— Rowan Kavner (@RowanKavner) January 3, 2016
More clippers: J.J. Redick is scorching hot right now
As for the 76ers, well, they didn’t end the night without any positives. Jahlil Okafor played incredibly well on offense, showcasing the moves that few rookies ever have the skill to possess. He palms the ball so effortlessly as he surveys his opponent before choosing how to attack, and made multiple smooth jump shots from the elbow, while getting down low and using some jump hooks and spin moves, too. As he finished with 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting in just 17 minutes of action, his potential was really on display.
The Clippers, on the other hand, were simply unstoppable once they got going in the second quarter.
As Jordan dunked non-stop and finished with 9-of-10 shooting and 22 points, the Clips ended the night with a field goal percentage of 60. When they get that many buckets at the rim and make 12-of-23 three pointers, they really are hard to stop. For the 76ers, they’re essentially impossible to stop.
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Even Cole Aldrich showed off a nice hook shot from near the free throw line, and when he’s giving you eight points and nine rebounds in just 11 minutes off the bench, the loss of Griffin doesn’t seem quite so bad. Aldrich really has flourished in his increased role as of late.
Wesley Johnson went 4-of-7 from three to score 12 points, J.J. Redick went 4-of-5 from deep with 16 points, and Austin Rivers went off more than anyone else, with 26 points on 11-of-16 shooting. And with the team playing so well, the bench rotating better on defense, making shots and moving better on offense, Branden Dawson even won an appearance with nine minutes to score his first NBA basket and grab three rebounds.
When that happens, you know it’s a good day for the Clippers.
Next: How the Clippers are winning without Blake Griffin
Whether it’s Griffin’s injury that has spurred the bench on to raise their performance or they’ve actually just got together over time, the Clippers and their fans have the new year’s present they wanted. Obviously not Blake being hurt, but the fact that his injury has almost come as a blessing in disguise as the rest of the team continues to step up has earned their six-game win streak.
In the long run, this helps the team to know what they can do, even if it’s been against weaker opponents. At the very least, they know they can create good shots, play within their roles, and play better defense.
What a way to end 2015 and begin the new year.