PHILADELPHIA, United States // Lob City is undergoing renovations.
For the Los Angeles Clippers, it’s about half-court offence and defence to be successful these days.
Especially being so short-handed.
Blake Griffin scored 26 points, Chris Paul added 25 points and 13 assists, and the depleted Clippers defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 94-83 Monday night.
DeAndre Jordan had 11 points and a season-high 21 rebounds, and Jared Dudley scored 10 points for the Clippers, who won their second straight. The Clippers are 2-1 on a season-high tying seven-game road trip.
“We’ve just got to keep grinding and can’t worry about anything,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said.
Los Angeles played without guards JJ Redick (injuries to right hand and wrist), Reggie Bullock (sprained left ankle) and Maalik Wayns (left knee). Forward Matt Barnes is out with a torn retina in his left eye. Help may be on the way for the Clippers, who are close to signing free agent forward Stephen Jackson.
“Ain’t nobody going to feel sorry for us,” Paul said. “We’ve got to go out there and compete.”
The Sixers were not at full strength, either, missing rookie point guard Michael Carter-Williams for the third consecutive game.
Carter-Williams was released from Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania on Sunday after a three-night stay because of a skin infection that caused soreness in his right knee.
Evan Turner scored 25 points and Thaddeus Young added 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Sixers, who struggled once again without their floor leader. The Sixers are 1-6 without Carter-Williams this season.
“The challenge, at times, keeps you up real late at night,” Sixers coach Brett Brown said.
Tony Wroten had nine points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in place of Carter-Williams.
The Sixers missed their first 13 3-pointers and trailed 44-36 at halftime, their lowest output in any half this season.
“We’ve been emphasising defence so much,” said Sixers center Spencer Hawes, who was limited to a season-low two points. “We’ve been playing a lot better in the last couple games there. Sometimes, it comes at the expense of some things on offence.”
The Clippers came out of the locker room and quickly extended their advantage to 57-36 following a 13-0 run.
Paul keyed the third-quarter surge with 12 points and five assists as Los Angeles went ahead 76-60.
The Sixers made a late push and got within 83-76 with 5:24 remaining.
But the Clippers made enough plays down the stretch to pull away. Paul knocked down a huge 3-pointer for an 88-77 lead with 3:10 left and it was enough of a cushion to seal the win.
“We’re still a work in progress,” Paul said. “We’ve just got to keep working.”
Rivers addressed Jackson’s situation before the game.
“It’s not done yet,” the coach said. “Nothing’s done in our league until it’s done, as you know. I just think he’s a veteran. We need him in a pinch, and we need him, like, now. That’s a guy you can bring in, and hopefully he can give you something right away.”
Jackson has been out of the league since being released by the San Antonio Spurs before the play-offs last season.
OTHER MONDAY RESULTS
Trail Blazers 105, Jazz 94
LaMarcus Aldridge scored a game-high 24 points hours after being named the Western Conference player of the week, lifting the Portland Trail Blazers to a victory over the Utah Jazz.
Utah, who lost 130-98 in Portland on Friday, made a game of it in the fourth quarter despite trailing by 15 points in the second half and playing without the injured Derrick Favors and Marvin Williams.
The Blazers (18-4) held off the Jazz (4-19) with late back-to-back three-pointers.
Point guard Damian Lillard added 18 points and grabbed five rebounds in the win.
Bobcats 115, Warriors 111
Kemba Walker scored 31 points, including 27 in the second half, as the Charlotte Bobcats beat the Golden State Warriors despite 43 points from Stephen Curry.
Walker put the game away with six free throws in the final minute, on a night when the Bobcats let a 15-point second-half lead slip away but were able to hold on in a frantic finish.
The win was Charlotte’s second straight and raised their record to 10-11, while Golden State fell to 12-10.
Nuggets 75, Wizards 74
Wilson Chandler scored 17 points and guard Nate Robinson had 16 as the Denver Nuggets outlasted the Washington Wizards.
With the Wizards failing to make a field goal in the final four minutes, the Nuggets (13-8) won despite scoring their fewest points of the season and committing 22 turnovers.
John Wall had 20 points and eight assists for the Wizards (9-11), but missed four shots inside the final 2:31 and committed a turnover on the final possession where he had the ball swiped away before he could attempt a shot.
Grizzlies 94, Magic 85
The Memphis Grizzlies shook off their home slump with a win over the Magic as power forward Zach Randolph scored 19 points with 12 rebounds.
Memphis (10-10) had lost four of five at home but they turned it around by pounding Orlando inside and outrebounding them 52-35.
Orlando (6-15) lost their sixth straight and their road record dropped to 1-10.
Andrew Nicholson and Jameer Nelson had 19 points each for the Magic.
Kings 112, Mavericks 97
On the day Sacramento (6-13) traded for Toronto swingman Rudy Gay, DeMarcus Cousins scored 32 with 19 rebounds and recently-acquired Derrick Williams had 31 in a victory over Dallas (13-9).
Along with Cousins, Isaiah Thomas also contributed a double-double by scoring 24 and distributing 12 assists. The trio accounted for 87 of the Kings’ 112 points.
Monta Ellis led the Mavericks with 21 points on 9-of-18 shooting.