Los Angeles Clippers defeat the Boston Celtics 108-103
The Clippers overcame some impressive performances from the Celtics bench to hold on for a narrow 108-103 win at the TD Garden on Wednesday night. The result marked the Clippers fourth consecutive win; a feat they have achieved for the first time since 10
January, 2010.
Mo Williams finished with a season-high 28 points coupled with four assists and three rebounds. He also shot at a high percentage, going 14 of 20 from the field.
Williams enjoyed getting his season-high points tally against one of the best teams in the NBA. He said, "For some reason, I just love the battles I've had in the past with Boston. I always get up for this game; I was up for this game today. I didn't even
take a nap today so I was ready to play."
The 22-year-old center DeAndre Jordan had a season-high 21 points and nine rebounds, while Randy Foye grabbed 12 assists for Los Angeles. The Clippers were without their leading scorer, Eric Gordon, who has missed six weeks with a right wrist fracture. Ryan
Gomes and Blake Griffin contributed 12 points each for the Clippers in the victory.
Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro praised his team’s performance after the game. He said, "Everybody stepped up and made plays. That is what it takes. It takes a team, it is not one or two guys, everyone needs to know what their job is. It's a confidence builder,
a good step in the right direction."
Ray Allen did all he could as he led Boston with 23 points and six rebounds in the defeat. Meanwhile, Nenad Krstic had 20 points and nine rebounds in Boston’s 16th loss of the season. Paul Pierce finished with 19 points and Kevin Garnett had 16
points in the Celtics sixth home defeat.
Match Analysis
The Clippers went to the fast break quickly, as they converted all six fast-break opportunities in the first quarter. Los Angeles then went on a 19-6 run in the last eight minutes of the quarter to take a 30-17 lead into the second.
In the second quarter, the Clippers continued to play offensively as they extended their lead to 60-40 with 32 seconds to go in the quarter. The Celtics on the other hand, fought hard to reduce the deficit. Nevertheless, they could not get close, as the
Clippers maintained a 60-42 advantage at half time.
Boston went on a 7-1 run in the third quarter to make the score a respectable one but Los Angeles continued to dominate and took a 76-66 edge into the final stanza.
The Clippers opened the fourth quarter on a 6-1 burst to make it 82-67 for good. Ray Allen kept Boston in the game as he scored 17 of his points in the fourth to reduce the deficit to 106-103 with just 10 seconds to go. Los Angeles then answered with a pair
of free throws by Randy Foye in the dying seconds to put the hosts away.
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