Clippers hand 76ers 14th road loss in row

The Los Angeles Clippers fell into an eight-point hole to start the game, then dug themselves out with a defensive effort that involved contributions from just about everyone.

Chris Paul scored 19 points, Caron Butler added 14 and the Clippers beat the Philadelphia 76ers 101-72 on Wednesday, bouncing back on the second night of back-to-back games.

Paul also had nine assists and six rebounds while Blake Griffin had a relatively quiet showing with seven points, nine rebounds and six assists. The Clippers were without Chauncey Billups and Eric Bledsoe, both sidelined by injuries.

"You got to stay calm and fight your way back in and we did that," Griffin said. "We had a big letdown yesterday, so to have a bounceback like this in a back-to-back, it's a good win."

Los Angeles improved to 27-8 at home after losing four of its previous seven, including a 116-101 setback at Sacramento on Tuesday night. The Clippers won three in a row against Philadelphia for the first time since 2006-07.

Spencer Hawes had 16 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for the 76ers, who have dropped 14 in a row on the road, where they are 6-24 this season. Thaddeus Young added 13 points and Evan Turner finished with 12, but All-Star Jrue Holiday was held to two points on 1-of-8 shooting.

"They got us turning it over and got some easy baskets," Hawes said. "I thought we defended them well when we weren't turning it over early, when we were in the half-court. When they get out in transition, they're as dangerous as any team in the league."

The 76ers had 19 turnovers that led to 24 points by the Clippers.

"We were hanging around for a while, but turnovers were really the deciding factor," 76ers coach Doug Collins said. "Their defense was tremendous. They really do a great job trapping Jrue. They're not going to let him get any shot opportunities and they're going to try and get the ball out of his hands."

The Clippers dominated after halftime, building a 66-46 lead midway through the third. Paul, Butler and Willie Green scored six points apiece in a 20-10 run that opened the quarter. Griffin set up DeAndre Jordan for an alley-oop dunk in the spurt.

(China Daily 03/22/2013 page24)