The LA Clippers wrapped up the last game of their road trip by losing to the Washington Wizards 117-110, once again playing down to their opponent.
Bradley Beal scored 41 points for his second 40-point game of the year in a comeback win against the LA Clippers (20-8) to help the Washington Wizards (12-14) win their third straight. Blake Griffin scored a team-high 26 points to go along with seven rebounds and seven assists, but was held scoreless in the fourth quarter.
John Wall had a respectable game against the Point God Chris Paul with 18 points and 11 assists. Markieff Morris added nine rebound and three steals to go with his 23 points, coming up with some key plays late in the fourth.
CP3 scored 13 points on 6-of-15 shooting to go with 12 assists. DeAndre Jordan dropped 13 points and grabbed a game-high 17 boards. J.J. Redick poured in 17 points, including eight in the first three minutes of the second half. Austin Rivers had 13 points and Marreese Speights with 14 points off the bench.
The Wizards could not miss from the field in the fourth quarter and shot a ridiculous 80 percent for the period. The Clippers didn’t have an answer for Morris, who scored 12 of his 23 points in the final quarter with a jam over Speights to tie it up at 89-89. The Clippers’ offense slowed down and their defense couldn’t get stops when necessary. It was that simple. They lost the fourth quarter 32-23.
They started the game slow with poor spacing that affected their offense early, coming back in the second quarter to take a three-point lead into the half.
As has been the case all season, they played very well in the third and this game was no different. Redick came back from the half to hit two three-pointers and a long two to open up the second half. The spacing was better in the third and L.A. were able to get better shots they wanted compared to the first half.
The game was even but the Wizards executed better down the stretch to tie it after falling behind 11 in the third. Washington went on a tear in the fourth quarter, only missing three of their shots (15-18).
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The Clippers shot well from the field at 49.4 percent, but the Wizards shot 53 percent thanks to their hot finish. Washington also shot over 52 percent from deep. The Clippers out-rebounded the Wiz (40-33), but did not have enough defense late to get the win.
Clippers lack focus
The Clippers lacked focus in the loss and Blake Griffin cannot go missing in the fourth quarter. The Clippers need him to help lift the load from Paul. It was a disappointing game and with Luc Mbah a Moute returning it was not enough to slow down the Wizards, who have won five of their last six.
The Clippers have been largely inconsistent since their hot start and after mediocre play in the last ten games, they are slowly dropping in the standings, falling behind an impressive Houston Rockets team who have taken the third seed at 21-7. Defense is the problem, and if the Clippers continue to play like this against so-so teams, expect blowouts to the elite teams.
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Adversity is here for the Clippers. Now it is time for them to find their identity, because they cannot stand to go .500 the rest of the season or else they’ll be in the bottom half of the playoff seeds. A team expecting to contend for a title looks lost.
Notes
Doc Rivers was ejected late in the fourth for arguing with the refs. It is his second game this season being tossed, both of which were losses.
Blake Griffin passed Elton Brand to rank third all-time in franchise scoring (9,352).
Austin Rivers was called for his fifth technical of the year.
Luc Mbah A Moute returned for the Clippers after missing previous two games.
Next: Blake to miss 3-6 weeks with knee surgery
Up next
The LA Clippers head home to host the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday and will look to bounce back after a let down Sunday. So far, the Clips are 10-4 at Staples Center this season.