Paul gives Clippers a boost
Mudiay, Nuggets handle the Knicks
MIAMI — Chris Paul had the worst possible start to his shooting day.
His finish, however, was perfect.
Paul’s consecutive 3-pointers in the final minutes were daggers to a Miami comeback, and his game-high 22 points helped the Los Angeles Clippers hang on to beat the Heat 100-93 on Sunday.
“I kept shooting it,” Paul said, “because sooner or later it had to go in.”
J.J. Redick scored 14 points, Wesley Johnson had 10 and DeAndre Jordan and Cole Aldrich grabbed 11 rebounds each for the Clippers, who won despite a 1-for-15 start from the field and swept the two-game season series with Miami.
“That was a team win because nobody really had it going,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. “But our defense really had it going all game.”
Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade and Goran Dragic all scored 17 points for Miami. Luol Deng added 15 points for the Heat, and Hassan Whiteside finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.
“They did to us what we’ve been doing the last few games, just grinding an opponent,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “That’s what they did to us, then made the bigger plays down the stretch.”
Paul was 0 for 7 in the opening period, the worst onequarter shooting performance of his NBA career, and was 0 for 9 before he finally got a shot to fall. But his 3-pointers in the fourth snuffed out a Miami rally, and his lob that set up Jordan for a dunk was the clincher for the Clippers — who, after that horrid start, shot 55 percent the rest
of the way.
CELTICS 128, KINGS 119: In Boston, Avery Bradley scored 25 points, Isiah Thomas had 22 and the Celtics held off the Kings for their ninth win in 10 games.
“Whenever you get a chance to run up and down and move the ball like we did tonight, it’s fun,” Bradley said. “And not only that, we were making shots. When everybody’s making shots, everybody’s happy.”
The loss may also fuel recent reports on the shaky status of Sacramento coach George Karl’s future.
NUGGETS 101, KNICKS 96: In New York, rookie Emmanuel Mudiay scored nine of his 15 points during a decisive fourth-quarter run, and Denver beat the fading Knicks.
Former Knicks forward Danilo Gallinari and Will Barton each had 19 points to lead the Nuggets, who won for the third time in four games. But it was Mudiay, who was just
2 for 12 through three quarters, who delivered nearly all the points during an 11-2 spurt that put the Nuggets in control after the game was tied at 86-86.
Kristaps Porzingis had 21 points and 13 rebounds for the Knicks, who have lost five in a row and nine of 10 since they were 22-22 and looking like a realistic playoff team.
MAGIC 96, HAWKS 94: In Orlando, Fla., Nik Vucevic hit an 18-footer at the buzzer for the Magic.
Elfrid Payton, who set up Vucevic’s winning shot with an inbounds pass, scored or assisted the Magic’s final six baskets as they won for only the third time in 18 games in 2016.
Vucevic led Orlando with 22 points and Evan Fournier added 21 points.
“It’s been a rough month for us, a lot of losses, so it’s good to get a win against a good team,” Vucevic said.