Los Angeles Clippers escape with 107-100 victory over Miami Heat in a close game – NBA Recap
The Los Angeles Clippers defeated the defending NBA champions Miami Heat 107-100 here on Wednesday night to clinch a much needed confidence booster as they look to improve this season as a playoff team. The game was intense and excitement filled throughout, but the Clippers were able to close well and pick up the victory. Jamal Crawford scored a team high 22 points and Blake Griffin finished with 20 points, 14 rebounds and 6 assists. LeBron James scored a game high 30 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists, but the rest of the Heat team failed to deliver on the night with the next highest scorer being Ray Allen coming off the bench to score 14 points. Dwyane Wade struggled on the night, going 2 of 10 from the field to finish with 6 points and 6 assists.
The Clippers started the game with confidence, starting with an 8-2 run to take the early lead. Miami came back with a 6-0 run capped off by a fade away jump shot to tie the game at 8. Chris Paul then scored a three pointer to put the Clippers up 16-13, but Miami responded with a 7-2 run that put them up 20-18. A three pointer by Crawford helped the Clippers take a 25-24 lead into the second period.
The second period was toughly contested, with each team trying to beat the other. The period involved a series of ties and lead exchanges, and no team was able to build any run or take a big lead. A floating jump shot by Mario Chalmers put the Heat up 43-40 after an intensive battle for the lead, but the Clippers came right back with four straight points to take a 44-43 lead. A jump shot by Ray Allen had the Heat up 54-49 with less than 10 seconds left in the first half, but Caron Butler scored a three pointer in the dying minutes to have the Clipper trailing 52-54 going into the halftime break.
A three pointer by Willie Green put the Clippers early in the third period put the Clippers up 60-58, which was followed by a jump shot by Blake Griffin and two free throws by Butler, putting the Clippers up 64-58. Butler later hit a three pointer and the Clippers were up 67-60, but a three pointer by Shane Battier followed by three free throws by Chris Bosh again had Miami only trailing by one. Back to back three pointers by Chris Paul, followed by two free throws capped off a personal 8-0 run by him and had the Clippers leading 82-72. The Clippers went into the final period with a valuable 85-74 advantage.
Six straight points by Eric Bledsoe early in the final period had the Clippers leading 91-76, and Bledsoe then added two free throws which was followed by a jump shot by Crawford to cap off a 10-0 run by the Clippers to extend their lead to 95-76. Miami made an attempt to cut into the deficit and back to back free throws by Ray Allen had them trailing 93-104, but the Clippers held on and eventually won 107-100
The Clippers shot slightly better from the field than Miami, and were able to compile a run when it mattered most, when helped them pick up the victory in this extremely close game. Bledsoe finished with 12 points, Butler had 15 for the night, and Chris Paul added 16 points and 10 assists.
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