Clippers Hold Off Suns, 102-96

Rowan KavnerLOS ANGELES – In the season opener, the Kings erased a 15-point fourth quarter deficit to take the lead before the Clippers answered and won.On Halloween night, the Kings erased a 14-point deficit to take a fourth-quarter lead before the Clippers answered and won.The product hasn’t always looked the way head coach Doc Rivers has wanted it to, and yet his Clippers now find themselves 4-0 after giving the Suns the Kings’ treatment Monday in yet another game decided late in the fourth quarter, 102-96.”What I do like is we’ve played good, we haven’t played great,” Rivers said before the game against the Suns. “We’ve had great stretches, and yet we’ve won games. That’s a good sign. We’ve fallen behind in fourth quarters and really not been rocked by that.”That was nearly the case once again, though the Clippers tightened up and prevented the Suns from ever actually going ahead in the fourth. It was another example of taking the bad, including a 33-point third quarter and 16 total offensive rebounds in the game for Phoenix, with the good, including another double-double for Blake Griffin and a fourth straight win.Next Game: 11/04″A win’s a win,” said Griffin, who still put up 22 points and 10 rebounds after rolling his ankle early in the first quarter. “We kind of just came around. We were careless I thought at times, but to be able to pull it out late like that, it’s great. When you win games and you’re not playing that well, it’s good.”The Suns led by eight points in the second quarter when the Clippers went on a 15-0 run sparked by Wesley Johnson, who, after a quiet start, made his first two baskets including a bucket and the foul for five straight points to help the Clippers start to turn the corner.The Clippers got the lead up to as many as 14 points, holding the Suns to 16 points in the second quarter, before Phoenix answered with a 24-7 run in the third quarter to retake the lead.That’s when Josh Smith started finding his stroke, coming up big from long range on a night neither team seemed to be able to hit anything from deep. The Suns finished 9-of-30 from behind the arc and the Clippers went 8-for-27, but Smith was able to hit back-to-back 3-pointers at a turning point in the game late in the third and then found Johnson for an alley-oop, allowing the Clippers to take a three-point lead into the fourth quarter.”I just want one game where both units play well at the same time,” Rivers said. “It seems like one unit plays well, the other unit doesn’t play well. But I thought the bench turned the game around with their energy tonight, especially in the third quarter, going downhill attack.”As close as it got, the Clippers would never relinquish that lead again.The Suns cut the Clippers’ lead to 79-77 on one of three 3-pointers on the night for Ronnie Price, and the Clippers answered by getting the lead up to six. The Suns would go on to cut the lead to two again at 87-85, and the Clippers got the lead back up to five.Phoenix found itself as close as it would get the rest of the night, trailing 92-91, on a jumper from T.J. Warren with 2:47 remaining.And, once again, the Clippers turned the Suns away, quickly getting the lead back up to five. As close as the Suns got, the Clippers, much like they did against the Suns, again found a way to leave with the win.”We’re winning games while we’re getting it together,” Rivers said, “which is nice.”A matchup between two undefeated teams will take place Wednesday, as the Clippers head to Golden State to face the Warriors.”It is a great atmosphere,” Griffin said. “It’s fun to play in, and we’ll be ready for it.”NOTES: Jamal Crawford surpassed the 16,000 career-point mark, becoming one of 16 active players to reach the milestone… DeAndre Jordan finished with seven points and nine rebounds, snapping a streak of 34 straight games posting double digits on the boards … It was “Beast Night” at Staples Center, as the Clippers and The Beast 980 celebrated their partnership with broadcasts live from Star Plaza in front of Staples Center … The on-air personalities were also introduced to the crowd at halftime …