NEW ORLEANS: Jamal Crawford drained seven of the Los Angeles Clippers’ 16 three-pointers on Monday as the Clippers wrapped up a three-game NBA road trip with a 123-110 NBA victory over New Orleans.
One day after they knocked off the Western Conference-leading Thunder in Oklahoma City, the Clippers showed no sign of a let down against the Pelicans.
Crawford scored 24 points, Blake Griffin added 22 and Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan both notched double-doubles — Paul contributing 19 points and 13 assists against his former team and Jordan scoring 14 points and pulling down 16 rebounds.
Anthony Davis led New Orleans with 26 points and 11 rebounds but was hit with a costly technical foul late in New Orleans’ fourth straight defeat.
Los Angeles connected on six three-pointers in the second quarter as they stretched their lead to 61-53 at halftime.
Crawford added two more from beyond the arc early in the third period and Griffin’s 9-0 scoring run stretched the Clippers’ lead to 76-58 just four minutes into the quarter.
New Orleans trimmed the deficit to 10 points with 7:39 left to play when Jeff Withey put back a Tyreke Evans miss.
But Crawford answered with a three-pointer, and three free throws from Paul after Davis’ foul and subsequent technical gave the Clippers a comfortable 111-95 lead.
“I thought when we started out the game the execution was close to flawless. We were getting dunks,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. “Then we started making threes, and when you make threes it opens the middle back up. It’s just really nice.
“Overall, five starters in double figures, and the ball movement on our team is just terrific,” Rivers added. “When you play that unselfish with that many good players a lot of good things are going to happen.”
Earlier yethe Clippers confirmed they had inked seven-year veteran forward Glen Davis, who became a free agent after he was bought out of his contract by Orlando.
Rivers said Davis would undergo a required physical exam today, but he’s expected to be available for his new team when they host the Houston Rockets.
Davis appeared in 45 games this season for the Magic, averaging 12.1 points and 6.3 rebounds.
With the Clippers he reunites with Rivers, who coached Davis for four seasons in Boston and together were part of the Celtics’ 2008 NBA Championship run.
Dirk Nowitzki’s jumper at the buzzer dropped in to give the Dallas Mavericks a win over the New York Knicks.
Anthony scored 44 points while New York wasted one of their best shooting performances of the season, going 40 of 76 from the floor for 53 percent. Point guard Stephen Curry had 19 points, nine assists and eight rebounds as the Golden State Warriors opened a six-game road trip with a win over the Detroit Pistons.
O J Mayo scored 25 points off the bench as the Bucks built a 29-point halftime lead and breezed to a victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Bucks improved their league-worst record to 11-45. The 76ers’ 15-42 mark is second worst. Ersan Ilyasova added 20 points for Milwaukee.
Backup guard Alec Burks scored 21 points, center Derrick Favors returned from his injury absence to score 20 points as the Utah Jazz beat the Boston Celtics.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma City Thunder center Kendrick Perkins underwent successful surgery on his left groin yesterday and is expected to miss six weeks of the NBA season, the team said.
The 11th-year NBA big man, who helped the Boston Celtics capture the league crown in 2008, would return only in the final days of the regular season under that timetable.
Perkins suffered the injury last Thursday when he and Miami Heat forward Shane Battier became tangled during the Thunder’s home loss.
An MRI exam confirmed the groin strain for Perkins, who has averaged 3.4 points and 5.0 rebounds in 54 games for the Thunder this season.
Steven Adams, a 20-year-old rookie from New Zealand, started in Perkins’ place on Sunday against the Los Angeles Clippers and will likely fill that role in the veteran’s absence.AFP
