The LA Clippers took care of business in their home opener Saturday night at the Staples Center. This contest was never really close, as they ran away with a dominant 130-88 victory over the Phoenix Suns.
Three pointers were the difference in this game for the Clippers. While the two sides missed the same amount of attempts from beyond the arc, LA made six more than the Suns. That’s an extra 18 points for the home team. If you cannot make your three pointers in this league (the Suns made only four), you will not win many games this season.
Clippers run away in first home game
Despite playing only 28 minutes each in this one, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan still played key roles. Griffin contributed with his shooting touch, scoring a game high 29 points. The veteran big man, meanwhile, managed to haul in double digit rebounds once more, bringing in 13 in his short stint.
On defense, Patrick Beverley continued his dominance. Against the Suns, the standard for defensive point guards poked the ball away five times in only 26 minutes worth of action. That’s an astounding number considering he played only a little more than half of the game. If Beverley continues this form, he will be a big key to the Clippers success this season.
With the Clippers up big in the second half, Doc Rivers gave some much needed rest to his stars. That did not mean that the production dropped off. Willie Reed scored in double figures and was 6-6 from the field, including a couple of big finishes at the rim.
Injury worry
The one big worry for Rivers and the rest of the team will be the health of Milos Teodosic. Teodosic left the game in the second quarter with an apparent left foot injury. While the X-rays came back negative, the Serbian will have an MRI to get a closer look at his foot.
Coming off a back-to-back, everyone knew this was going to be a tough matchup for the Phoenix Suns. But this young team only managed to score 88 points and had only 18 after 12 minutes. It looked as if they left their offense in Phoenix after they scored 130 points against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Coming Up
In two nights from now, the Suns, if they’re clicking on both offense and defense, have a great chance of getting their first win. They will take on the Sacramento Kings, another young, up and coming team, at home.
The Clippers schedule gets a little tougher over the course of the next four days. That stretch starts with a home game Tuesday night against the Utah Jazz.