{{pageModel.leagueAbbr}} {{pageModel.subtitle}} | Las Vegas Review-Journal
National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
L.A. Clippers 112, Phoenix 101
When: 10:30 PM ET, Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Where: US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona
Officials: #22 Bill Spooner, #11 Derrick Collins, #34 Kevin Cutler
Attendance: 18055

PHOENIX -- Guard Chris Paul scored 22 points, and forward Blake Griffin collected 13 of his 20 points in the first quarter as the Los Angeles Clippers rolled into the playoffs with their seventh straight win, an easy 112-101 win over the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday.

With seven players scoring in double figures, the Clippers (56-26) won for the 14th time in 15 games and pushed a half-game ahead of the San Antonio Spurs (55-26) and the Houston Rockets (55-26) in the race for the second seed in the Western Conference. Now, Los Angeles waits to see whether it will be the second or third seed when the playoffs open.

If the Spurs win, they will earn the No. 2 seed by virtue of a tiebreaker (as the Southwest Division champion). In that case, San Antonio would face the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs and the Clippers would open against the Memphis Grizzlies.

If the Spurs lose and the Rockets win, the Rockets, as Southwest Division champs, would get the No. 2 seed and would meet the Mavericks, while the Clippers would face Memphis. The Spurs would fall to the No. 5 seed and would draw the fourth-seeded Portland Trail Blazers.

If both the Spurs and Rockets lose, the Clippers finish second and get the Mavericks, the Spurs finish third and face the Grizzlies, and the Rockets end up fifth and play the Blazers.

Center DeAndre Jordan had 13 points and 14 rebounds for the Clippers -- surpassing Swen Nater (1979-80) for the highest single-season rebounding total in franchise history with 1,226. He collected 10 or more rebounds in 75 of 82 games this season and extended his ironman streak to 322 games.

Guard Archie Goodwin had 18 points for the Suns, who trailed by as many as 30 and missed the playoffs for the fifth straight year, tying the longest drought in franchise history (1970-75).

Phoenix (39-43) finished the season with five straight losses and lost 10 of the final 11 games since being 38-33 and in the hunt for the playoffs in late March. Only eight players dressed for the Suns, and those who did couldn't muster much of a fight until the outcome was no longer in doubt.

Griffin was the star of the Clippers' 32-point first quarter, hitting his first six shots from the field and scoring 13 points. Paul added the first two of his six 3-pointers of the night, including a 25-footer to give Los Angeles a 32-24 lead.

The Clippers turned up the offense even more in the second period, hitting 13 of 21 shots and taking total control. Center Spencer Hawks capped an 8-0 run with a 3-pointer to push Los Angeles' lead to 48-34. Paul had eight points as the Clippers closed the first half on a 14-2 run, with three free throws from Griffin just before halftime pushing the margin to 69-43.

The Clippers led 89-59 after a 3-pointer from guard Jamal Crawford with 2:25 left in the third quarter before the Suns used a flurry of 3-points to cut the deficit to 109-98 on two free throws by Goodwin.

Phoenix had six players score in double figures, including forward P.J. Tucker, who finished with 17 points.

NOTES: The Clippers became the first team in NBA history to have three players shoot at least 90 percent from the free-throw line: G Jamal Crawford (.901), G J.J. Redick (.901) and G Chris Paul (.900). Only two teams -- the 1990-91 Seattle SuperSonics (Ricky Pierce and Eddie Johnson) and the 1978-79 Houston Rockets (Rick Barry and Calvin Murphy) had two players shoot 90 percent or better. ... The Suns end the season with 2,099 wins in franchise history. Since Phoenix joined the NBA in 1968-69, only the Los Angeles Lakers (2,394) and Boston Celtics (2,173) have more regular-season victories. ... Clippers coach Doc Rivers said entering the playoffs on a good note really isn't important. "My team in Boston lost going into the playoffs and made it to the (NBA) Finals," he said. "You've got to play well in Game 1 (of the playoffs
Top Game Performances
 
L.A. Clippers   Phoenix
Chris Paul 22 Scoring Archie Goodwin 18
Chris Paul 6 Assists Eric Bledsoe 9
DeAndre Jordan 14 Rebounds Markieff Morris 9
Blake Griffin 4 Free Throws Made Archie Goodwin 4
Jamal Crawford 3 Steals Jerel McNeal 3
DeAndre Jordan 2 Blocks Earl Barron 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
L.A. Clippers 112 48.3 15-38 13-18 26 44 5 10 13
Phoenix 101 48.8 11-26 12-20 25 39 3 8 15
Upcoming Games
  • L.A. Clippers will play their next game at home against San Antonio. The Clippers have a W/L % of .673 after a win and .704 after a loss.