New York: The Los Angeles Clippers registered a comprehensive 107-94 win over the Utah Jazz at the Staples Center yesterday to rebound from their thrashing at the hands of San Antonio Spurs on Thursday.
Humbled 116-90 at home to the Spurs last time out, the Clippers redeemed themselves in front of their fans with the clinical win over Utah, pulling away with a big third quarter.
Los Angeles led by two at the half but outscored their opponents 36-20 in the third to destroy the game as a contest with Blake Griffin, Caron Butler and Lamar Odom leading the way.
“Third quarter, we got into it defensively a little bit, got some stops so we were more aggressive and did a much better job with points in the paint and just our overall effort,” Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro told reporters.
Griffin and Odom scored 18 points each while Butler put away a team high 21 points of his own along with five rebounds.
“I’m just staying with it, looking for my offense. Just trying to play through whatever I’m going through and just letting the game come to me,” Odom said of his performance from the bench.
The win moved the Clippers to 40-18 on the year, keeping them in control on top of the Pacific Division.
It also ensured a four-game season sweep of the Jazz for the first time since 1978-79.
The Jazz dropped to 31-25 but remain in the playoff zone as the seventh best team in the Western Conference.
Meanwhile, Dwyane Wade had a game-high 33 points and LeBron James notched a triple-double as the NBA champions Miami Heat downed Philadelphia 114-90 yesterday to stretch their winning streak to 10.
Mario Chalmers scored 14 points and Chris Bosh added 13 for the Heat, who improved to 39-14 and have a comfortable 5 1/2-game lead over Indiana in the Eastern Conference.
Wade’s points tally, on 14-of-18 shooting, saw him reach 16,000 career points. James helped him get there as he got his teammate the ball often in the early going.
James scored just five points in the first two periods, but finished with 16 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for his third triple-double of the season.
The Heat’s current winning streak includes four straight road victories.
They now have their second double-digit winning streak since Bosh, James and Wade joined forces, the other a 12-game streak in the 2010-2011 season.
“Right now, we just want to continue to pile up the wins as much as possible,” Wade said.
Added Bosh: “We really have a very good chance to kind of separate ourselves from the rest of the pack, and continue to get better.
Meanwhile, Golden State Warriors center Andrew Bogut didn’t travel with the team for the beginning of a five-game road trip at Minnesota because of a nagging back injury.
An MRI revealed that a protruding disk in Bogut’s back is causing spasms, the Warriors said yesterday. They are hoping Bogut can join the team later in the trip.AGENCIES
