SACRAMENTO – Vanilla Ice sang “Ice Ice Baby” at halftime Wednesday night, and then a Kings team that couldn’t miss in the first half went cold.
The Kings (24-33) already posted 72 points with 10:40 still left in the third quarter before the Clippers’ (38-20) defense stepped up, holding Sacramento scoreless for more than six and a half minutes while going on a 23-2 run to lead by double digits in an eventual 117-107 win.
Next Game: 2/29
That stretch for the Clippers included three 3-pointers from Jeff Green, who finished with 22 points on 9-for-13 shooting. Green started for Paul Pierce, who didn’t make the trip for personal reasons. Meanwhile, the Kings missed six shots, committed a technical foul and had four turnovers during the run for the Clippers, who soared ahead.
The Kings had no answer all night for Chris Paul, who finished with a season-high 40 points to go with 13 assists and eight rebounds, finishing three points away from tying his career high in scoring.
Before the cold streak started for the Kings, they held their largest lead of the game at eight. By the 4:03 mark in the third, with Rudy Gay snapping the Clippers’ 20-0 run with a bucket inside, the Clippers led by double digits.
The Clippers then cruised in the fourth quarter with the help of Jamal Crawford, who had 21 points. After scoring just 81 points in a loss Wednesday, the Clippers responded by scoring 97 points after just three quarters two days later, with at least 30 points in each of the first three quarters.
