MIAMI – Chris Paul demonstrated Sunday why it’s not necessarily how you start, but how you finish.
Paul began 0-for-9 but followed going 8-for-14 the rest of the day, scoring a team-high 22 points and hitting back-to-back clutch 3-pointers before tossing up a lob to DeAndre Jordan late in the fourth quarter to help guide the Clippers past the Heat, 100-93.
No one for the Clippers could hit anything early on, starting the night 1-for-15, yet they only trailed by four points after the first quarter.
Next Game: 2/8
The Heat went on a 14-2 run early on, as the Clippers had just six points after nine minutes, but neither team could hit much of anything. The teams combined to start the night 3-for-19.
With help from Wesley Johnson and Lance Stephenson, the Clippers went on an 8-2 run in the second quarter to cut the deficit to one. By halftime, after late 3-pointers from Paul Pierce and J.J. Redick, they managed to shake off the slow start and take a 46-45 lead into halftime.
The Clippers kept building on that lead, and when the Heat cut their deficit to two points in the third quarter, the Clippers followed with an 8-0 run, sparked by Paul and Jordan’s pick-and-roll play.
Miami wasn’t done, though. The Clippers led, 81-72, in the fourth quarter, when they went cold again. The Heat’s 6-0 run brought the Clippers lead down to three, when Jamal Crawford hit a 3-pointer.
Crawford, who scored 20 points, would go on to hit another in the corner which served as the dagger, putting the Clippers back up double digits with fewer than two minutes left.
