It was the final regular season game for the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center on Wednesday night. They hosted the Sacramento Kings in front of 19 thousand fans who saw their team put on a show and win big over the struggling Kings. Clippers needed this win in order to secure the fourth spot in the Western Conference that would give them home-court advantage in the first round.
Total team effort
The Clippers played at their full strength in this one, with the exception of Austin Rivers who was out due to muscle injury. With playoff implications on the line, LA wanted to pull away early and rest some of their guys.
They opened up the game with a high scoring first quarter. It was 30-23 for the home team after the first 12 minutes of play. The first half ended with a six-point lead for the Clippers (53-47). They started to pull away in the third quarter as they increased their lead up to 13 points midway in the third (76-63). By the time the fourth quarter started, it was already clear that the Clippers will end up as the winners in this one. They had their biggest lead of the game in that fourth quarter when it was 104-83. The final score was 115-95 for Doc Rivers' squad that won its seventh straight game. Clippers outrebounded Sacramento 43-37 and had 29 team assists. They shot an efficient 51.8% from the field and were able to make ten three-pointers in Wednesday's game.
DeAndre's big game
Six players finished the game in double-digit scoring for LA. DeAndre Jordan led the way with 18 points. He added 17 rebounds and shot an impressive 8-10 from the field. J.J.Redick added 18 points, and three made three-pointers. Redick broke his own franchise record for 3-pointers made by hitting his 201st midway through the third quarter.
That eclipsed the 200 three-pointers Redick made last season. Chris Paul contributed in the win with 17 points and nine assists. With this victory, the Clippers clinched the fourth spot in the Western Conference standings and will face the Utah Jazz in the first round of the playoffs. They've dominated the Jazz recently having won three of their four matchups this season, and 18 of their last 20 overall.
LA finished the season with 51-31 record, and they are heading to their sixth consecutive postseason.
Five players scored in double figures for the Kings on Wednesday night. Willie Cauley-Stein led all scorers with 19 points to go along with 14 rebounds. Arron Afflalo finished with 18 points and six assists, while Buddy Hield added 16 points and six rebounds. Sacramento finished the season with a 32-50 record and will not play in this year's playoffs.
