Johnson Helps Clippers Shoot By Pacers

By Connor Aylward
- Tweet
- Pin It
Updated: January 26, 2016

A dramatic Tuesday for the Los Angeles Clippers started on a low point with the story of star power forward Blake Griffin breaking a bone in his hand and missing 4-6 weeks minimum but ended on the high note of a Clipper victory. Wesley Johnson was able to help Los Angeles shoot the lights out from beyond the arc which proved to be a crucial key to the victory in this one.

The first quarter of this one started with all offense. A great back and forth battle by both teams led to a quick 15-14 Indiana lead with still seven minutes remaining as both teams seemed to be hitting every shot. Pacers up and coming rookie Myles Turner would enter the game and things would change as his impact was felt immediately. Knocking in some great shots from the mid-range that were unexpected for the big man, and crashing the boards hard would pay off as the Pacers would grow a 9 point lead behind his play and a tough Clippers shooting spell that saw the squad go 1 for 10 from the field. Johnson and Jamal Crawford then came off the bench for Los Angeles and they made sure that lead did not last long. Two consecutive threes from Johnson and then another from Crawford knotted the game up at 25 at the end of one.

Turner continued to shine for Indiana in quarter number two as he would end the half with 16 points off the bench but the Clippers were able to keep the game close. Chris Paul and J.J. Redick allowed the team to remain in the contest, despite a very poor shooting performance from the entire club. The Clippers would end the half shooting just 39.5% from the field and were out-rebounded by the Pacers by 10 and looked like they would head into the half trailing Indiana by 4. However a regrettable technical by DeAndre Jordan with just a half a second left in the quarter gave the Pacers two more points and they would lead it 51-45 at halftime.

Wesley Johnson would be the story of the third quarter for Los Angeles as the backup forward would continue his hot shooting from the first half and knock in an additional 3 three-pointers in the third giving him 15 by the end of the quarter. Paul George however would help his team stay in it with some great shooting and defense that would give him 21 heading into the fourth. The Clippers had a slight edge through three quarters 74-72 but would provide the most interesting stat of the night as well, the club had made a total of 26 field goals in the game to this point and 14 of them were three pointers.

Chris Paul and the Clipper defense would welcome the Pacers into the fourth as they couldn’t seem to buy a bucket for half of the quarter, their first bucket not coming until there was six and a half minutes to go in the game. Los Angeles used the slow start to jump out to a 81-72 lead. A few quick buckets from George helped the Pacers cut that lead down to three. Some great play from Paul and a key three-ball that shifted momentum helped Los Angeles maintain the lead but Indiana fought right back, making this a two point contest with just under two minutes remaining. Paul wasn’t done yet though, the undisputed leader of Los Angeles drained clutch shot after clutch shot late in this one that would eventually help his team get the win 91-89.

Johnson ended the night shooting 5 of 6 from the three point line as that fantastic night from long-range accounted for all of his 15 points. Chris Paul had an amazing game with 26 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds all of which were needed in this very close affair. Redick obviously had to be apart of this three-point shooting bonanza for the Clippers as he knocked in four three-pointers of his own, giving him 19 points.

A very close win for the Clippers on what would prove to be a tough day for the team. The final game of this Los Angeles five game road trip will take place tomorrow against the Atlanta Hawks at 5 PM PST.

Thanks for reading along Clipper fans and come back to CaliSports News for all your Clipper updates!

Stay with us at Calisportsnews.com as we will keep you up-to-date on all things Los Angeles Clippers and the rest of the LA sports teams! All Cali, All the time!