Rowan Kavner
<strongCHICAGO – The Clippers needed somewhere else to turn.
Blake Griffin was the only player generating offense for the Clippers through two and a half quarters against the Bulls, and after his ejection in the third quarter, the answer was the 3-point shot.
Still, even eight long-range hits in the fourth quarter weren’t quite enough to complete the comeback in an 83-80 loss.
The Clippers’ 4-for-4 start from the floor in the first minute and a half of Thursday’s game against the Bulls couldn’t have been more of a red herring on a night where neither team could buy a basket.
A 3-for-23 second quarter from the Clippers netted them just 11 points, as a one-point lead after the first quarter turned into a nine-point deficit by halftime.
It was a struggle the minute the starters left the floor. By halftime, all five Clippers starters had a positive plus-minus, while every backup was minus-12 or worse, with the bench shooting 2-for-14 in the first half.
Despite missing a quarter and a half, Griffin still led the Clippers in the game with 18 points and 11 rebounds. He missed the ending, as he was issued a flagrant-2 and ejected for a foul on Taj Gibson.
The Clippers would need to find something and someone else to go to, and the bench stepped up while the 3-point shot all of a sudden returned. Defense hadn’t been a problem for the Clippers all night, and that ramped up as well late in the third quarter and early in the fourth, as well.
It was a 57-43 deficit for the Clippers when Griffin left the game. The Clippers got that down to single digits, but it went back to 10 by the end of the quarter. The Bulls struck first in the fourth quarter, but a barrage of 3-pointers followed for the Clippers, who went on a 12-0 run courtesy of four straight long-range hits to tie the game at 66.
Each of the Clippers’ first seven baskets of the fourth quarter came via 3-pointers, and nothing was falling for the Bulls. But it didn’t take long for the lid came off the rim. After the Clippers tied the game, the Bulls went on a quick 7-0 run and led the rest of the way.
The Clippers trailed by six late when Wesley Johnson hit another 3-pointer to bring the Clippers within three points, but after a stop, a last-second 3-point attempt from Chris Paul, who hit two 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, didn’t find the target.
Along with Griffin, DeAndre Jordan also had a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds, but the Clippers shot 34.1 percent in the loss.
