CaliSports News

Paul’s 40 Lifts Clippers Over Kings

Chris Paul Credit to LA Times

The Los Angeles Clippers would take on their Pacific Division foes the Sacramento Kings on Friday night at Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento. The Kings have struggled so far this season but they would be taking on a Clipper team that is still very much so plagued by injury with Austin Rivers and Blake Griffin still absent. Paul Pierce also did not travel with the team tonight due to personal reasons and the newly acquired Jeff Green would get his first start for the club in his place and he put on one heck of a show.

This game was all about offense early on as it looked like the teams left their defensive game plans on the chalk board in the locker room. The Kings would get it going from deep early in the first with three 3 pointers in the first five minutes, including one from Center DeMarcus Cousins who had two threes but the end of the quarter. The Clippers just couldn’t miss and the score skyrocketed up to 21-19 just halfway into the first as the Kings defense struggled mightily to stop the “point god” Chris Paul who had 12 before the quarter came to a close. 3 of those 12 came on a magnificent and-one that put Kings Guard Ben Mclemore on skates,


Quarter number two got started off with none other than Seth Curry helping the Kings take a lead. Curry had 11 points in the second but the lead would never be a large one thanks to Paul and Jamal Crawford willing Los Angeles into the game. In what might have been the closest half of basketball played by the Clippers this season there were eleven ties and no team saw themselves lead by more than five. The half would end with Sacramento leading 67-64 as Paul dropped in 23 points and Cousins helped his Kings by being on triple-double watch.

Sacramento would jump out early in the third quarter extending that lead out to 72-64 before Los Angeles had enough. The Clippers would then go on a 20-0 run thanks to some remarkable shooting from Green who had 3 three-pointers in this quarter alone and Paul continuing to impress everybody in the building with his mid-range accuracy.


By the time the quarter had wrapped up the Kings looked lost on defense and the team had completely fallen apart. Clippers would lead with one-quarter left, 98-83.

The Clippers kept that hot shooting rolling into the fourth as foul problems and a technical on Cousins would continue to plague the Kings. Doc Rivers did not take any chances even though the Clippers lead never fell below 15 points, he had the starters re-enter the game with around 6 minutes remaining and secure it they did as Paul and JJ Redick would knock in some big shots to help the club extend on that lead even more and get it out to as many as 20. Sacramento would chip into that lead a little bit but it wouldn’t be enough as Los Angeles came out on top in this one 117-107.

Chris Paul was amazing tonight with 40 points, 13 assists and 8 rebounds while only have 2 turnovers. Jeff Green had 22 points in his first night as a starter including 4 three-pointers. Meanwhile, Jamal Crawford lead the way on the bench with 21 points.

Great win for the Clippers in what was a back and forth brawl in the first half. The Clippers move now to 38-20 on the season while the Kings drop to 24-33. Los Angeles will take on the Brooklyn Nets on Monday for their next contest at 7:30 PM PST.

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