NBA -- L.A. Clippers up streak to seven
By Homer D. Sayson
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 13 Dec 2012
CHICAGO -- Held to just 40 percent shooting in the opening half, the Los Angeles Clippers bounced back strong in the third and final quarters, sinking 53 percent of their shots on the way to a 94-89 victory over the Chicago Bulls Tuesday night at the United Center.
As expected, the superstar tandem of power foward Blake Grififn and point guard Chris Paul led the Clippers charge. The high-leaping Griffin tormented the Bulls for 22 points and 10 rebounds while Paul seamlessly orchestrated the offense while notching 18 points and four assists. Paul's pair of free throws gave L.A. a comfortable 93-89 cushion in the final 21 seconds of play.
"The end of the second quarter changed the game for us. We started dancing with the ball," lamented Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau, whose chargers coughed up 16 turnovers.
The Bulls' bench boss was referring to a crucial stretch in the second quarter when the Clippers, trailing 38-37 with 3:54 remaining, went on a 10-2 run to take a 47-40 halftime advantage.
Matt Barnes also had 14 points for the Clips with Jamal Crawford adding 10 and Caron Butler finishing with nine.
Carlos Boozer paced the Bulls with 24 points and 13 rebounds, but it wasn't enough for Chicago which made just 35-of-87 shots (40.2 percent). The Bulls did make 10-of-20 threes, sank nine of their 12 free throws and outrebounded Los Angeles 50-42 to keep the game competitive.
Starting in place of the injured Rip Hamilton, Marco Belinelli had 18 points on just 6-for-22 shooting. Luol Deng had similar struggles, missing 11 of 14 shots for a mere eight points.
The Clippers improved to 15-6 to stay on top of the Pacific Division while the Bulls fell to 11-9, still good enough to lead the Central Division. (Homer D. Sayson)
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