New Jersey Nets hand the Los Angeles Clippers their sixth-straight loss
The New Jersey Nets (4-6) defeated the Los Angeles Clippers (1-10) 110-96 on Monday 15 November at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
The Clippers have now lost six straight games after entering the season with some optimism especially with standout rookie Blake Griffin back in the lineup. The Nets, on the other hand,
have already won one-third of the total number of games they won last season, where they finished with an NBA-worst 12 victories.
The Nets rallied after their starting point guard Devin Harris was ejected from the game for committing a Grade 2 flagrant foul on Griffin halfway through the second quarter. While Harris
had eight points and seven assists before leaving the game, Brook Lopez finished with a team-high 24 points. Travis Outlaw shot 4-for-6 from three-point range on his way to 23 points and five rebounds while Kris Humphries finished with 13 points and a game-high
12 boards. Jordan Farmar, despite going 1-for-6 from deep, led all bench scorers with 15 points and 12 assists.
The Clippers were led by Eric Gordon, who finished with 30 points, getting to the line 20 times in the game. Point guard Eric Bledsoe finished with 14 points, eight rebounds, and six assists
while Al-Farouq Aminu and Griffin each chipped in with 14 and 11 points, respectively. Ryan Gomes made two of his three attempts from deep to lead all Los Angeles bench scorers with nine points.
While the Nets shot 60 per cent from the field last night, the Clippers only managed 40 per cent. The Nets also did a much better job of sharing the ball, finishing with 32 assists versus
16 for Los Angeles.
With New Jersey holding on to a 24-23 lead after one quarter, they went on a run in the second frame to enter half time up 55-44. The Clippers outscored the Nets 26-21 in the third quarter,
and when Bledsoe scored a layup halfway through the final quarter, the lead was cut to three at 85-82. But thanks to a jumper by Anthony Morrow and a three-pointer by Outlaw, the Nets went up 100-90 with just over two minutes remaining.
What they said
The Nets are hoping that the ugly foul by Harris against Griffin won’t result in a suspension for the young point guard. New Jersey coach Avery Johnson told reporters after the game that
Harris wasn’t trying to hurt Griffin.
"That was a tough call. Devin wasn't trying to injure the guy. He definitely wasn't trying to commit a flagrant foul. We just don't like to give layups. Hopefully we'll just get past that
situation and have him back for the next game."
Harris said he only realized how bad the play looked when he saw the replay in the locker room after his ejection.
"Once I came back here and saw it a couple of times, it looked pretty bad. So it probably was the right call. I wasn't trying to body-slam him or anything like that. It was just an awkward
play at an awkward angle."
And it doesn’t appear they’ll be any bad blood between the two players.
"I don't think he was trying to do something malicious or anything like that," Griffin said. "I figured he was going to foul me because they didn't want to give up two easy points."
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