DeAndre Jordan on Sunday tallied 16 points and 16 rebounds as the Los Angeles Clippers clinched a Western Conference playoff spot with a 105-90 win over the Denver Nuggets.
The Clippers became the fourth West club to book a playoff berth as they used a strong second half to get the job done in front of a crowd of 19,000 at Staples Center.
Chris Paul scored 14 points, handed out nine assists and grabbed six rebounds for Los Angeles, who had six players score in double figures.
Photo: AP
“We started getting stops in the second half,” Paul said. “When D.J. Augustin came back in, we started blitzing, trying to get the ball out of his hands. He sort of controlled the game in the first half.”
“He did a little bit of everything. So, in the second half, we tried to take him out of the game. I think that helped us,” he added.
Jamal Crawford scored 14 points, Jeff Green and Wesley Johnson added 13 points each, while J.J. Redick had 12 points.
Jordan connected on seven of 10 shots from the floor as the Clippers clinched a playoff berth for the fifth consecutive season. Jordan leads the NBA in field goal percentage.
Jusuf Nurkic led the Nuggets with 19 points. Augustin had 16 of his 18 points in the first half before the Clippers put a dent in his production after intermission. Augustin added 10 assists.
Will Barton finished with 13 points for Denver. Gary Harris scored 11.
The Clippers opened the third quarter with a 13-4 run to stretch their four-point halftime lead to 67-54.
The Clippers took a 77-60 lead into the fourth and the Nuggets failed to get close again.
“The third quarter killed us,” Denver coach Mike Malone said. “They got out to a great start, we weathered the storm, came back, played really well and made it a game.”
“Then, to get outscored 25-12 in the third quarter, I think we had five turnovers, and if we did not turn it over DeAndre blocked our shot it felt like. We just could not score,” he added.
DeMarcus Cousins finished with a double-double of 20 points and 12 rebounds as the Sacramento Kings rolled to their second straight victory with a 133-111 rout of the Dallas Mavericks.
Willie Cauley-Stein scored 21 points for the Kings, who also won by 22 points against Phoenix on Friday. Rajon Rondo contributed 11 points and 11 assists.
Raymond Felton had 15 points and Dirk Nowitzki scored 14 points for the Mavericks, who have lost 10 of 12 games.
Paul George scored 25 points and Monta Ellis added 22 as the Indiana Pacers edged the Houston Rockets 104-101.
Ian Mahinmi had 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Pacers, who are in seventh place in the Eastern Conference playoff race and sit half a game ahead of the eighth-place Detroit Pistons.
James Harden finished with 34 points to lead the Rockets. Trevor Ariza had 14 points, and Dwight Howard added 11 points and 10 rebounds for Houston, who remain half a game ahead of Dallas for eighth place in the Western Conference playoff race.
In Oakland, California, Klay Thompson scored 40 points in consecutive games for the first time in his career and Draymond Green posted his franchise-best 12th triple-double as the Golden State Warriors beat the Philadelphia 76ers 117-105 on Sunday night.
Stephen Curry had 20 points and eight assists and Green contributed 13 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists as Golden State (66-7) stayed a game ahead of the pace set by the 1995-1996 Bulls’ during their record 72-win season. Chicago were 65-8 through 73 games.
Backup big man Marreese Speights added 17 points and seven rebounds in the Warriors’ 53rd straight regular-season victory at Oracle Arena and 35th consecutive at home this season.
Carl Landry scored 22 points for the lowly Sixers, who lost their ninth in a row and 22nd in 23 while playing a back-to-back.
In Los Angeles, John Wall had 22 points and 13 assists and Marcin Gortat added 16 points and 10 rebounds in the Washington Wizards’ 101-88 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.
Kobe Bryant scored 17 points in 23 minutes for the Lakers, who have lost seven of eight to fall to 15-58. Bryant has four home games remaining in his 20-year NBA career, and the Staples Center crowd serenaded him with cheers and chants while the Lakers listlessly lost again.
Otto Porter Jr scored 14 points in the Wizards’ balanced performance during the opener of a four-game west coast swing with their playoff hopes in peril. Washington have won six of eight overall, but dropped two straight home games before the trip.
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