Rowan Kavner
PLAYA VISTA, Calif. – Chris Paul’s posted at least 13 points and 12 assists in three of his last four games, helping the Clippers go 4-1 on the five-game road trip
With the starting backcourt healthy once again, Paul and J.J. Redick have been vital in getting the Clippers back on track. Here’s some of what Paul had to say after beating the Pistons in overtime.
I know you guys typically don’t like to put too much emphasis on one game, but how big was it to go 4-1 on the trip instead of 3-2?
CP: “That’s big for us. We’ve been going through our struggles and different things like that, so to be down like we were and to fight back like that and to make the heads-up, cerebral plays that we made was big for us.”
Doc Rivers said you guys kind of went off script from the original calls late and it worked out?
CP: “It was just trust, just knowing each other and knowing they were switching everything. That’s going to make a mismatch with Blake (Griffin), and then Blake just trusted. He made the right call.”
How much of the trust you’re talking about is because the core’s been together for a while?
CP: “I think that has a lot to do with it. Another thing is how many situations we’ve been in like that through the playoffs and different things like that, so it’s good. This year, though, we’ve been struggling down the stretch, so it was good to finally pull one out.”
How tough was it to have to sit late defensively with five fouls?
CP: “Yeah, that was real tough, but that’s where we trusted. Austin (Rivers) came in, defended great. We were just going offense for defense. You’ve got to do that some nights.”
Would you consider that a great trip?
CP: “Yeah, I still think we could have gotten another one, but it is what it is. We’ll take it.”
