Clippers Coast Into All-Star Break

By Connor Aylward
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Updated: February 15, 2017

Coming in on a three game winning streak the Los Angeles Clippers were hoping to head into the lengthy All-Star break with another victory.

With the Atlanta Hawks standing in their way the team was expecting a tough contest. Los Angeles played with that mentality, Atlanta didn’t.

The Clippers came out firing in the first half, most impressively from beyond the arc.

Seven different Clippers have hit 3-pointers in this game. They are 9/16 from three.

— Kristina Pink (@Kristina_Pink) February 16, 2017

The above was during the first half. The team ended the game 14 of 37 from long range and 8 Clippers would connect from that distance. With those 8 hitting from three the Clippers tied a team-record.

Defense was the key to this win for Los Angeles as they had 18 steals on the night with backups Raymond Felton and Wesley Johnson leading the way with 4 a piece. Again this defense looked vastly improved after allowing an average of 120 points per contest during their recent road trip.

The improvements on both sides of the ball likely have a lot to do with the resurgence of Blake Griffin who once again put together a stellar performance on both sides of the ball. Closing this one out with 17 points, 9 assists, 5 rebounds and a surprising 2 blocks.

Griffin didn’t shine alone however, his buddy DeAndre Jordan was cleaning the glass with 16 boards to go with his 7 points. A congratulations to Jordan who received his All-Star jersey tonight. A much deserved and long overdue honor for the first time All-Star.

DeAndre Jordan presented with all star jersey before tonight’s game. pic.twitter.com/9oUGMHTQ2g

— Kristina Pink (@Kristina_Pink) February 16, 2017

When the two stars mentioned above don’t have to play in the fourth quarter that usually means things are going well for Los Angeles. The Clippers were able to coast to a 99-84 victory in this one.

With the All-Star break on the horizon the Clippers won’t play again until their February 23rd matchup with Golden State. But don’t worry Clipper Nation there will be plenty for you to watch with Jordan participating in both the Slam Dunk contest and the All-Star game this weekend.

Thanks for reading along Clipper Nation. Here’s to DeAndre coming home with that dunk trophy just like his teammate Blake Griffin did back in 2011.

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