The Clippers keep their winning streak going with a win over Charlotte
Los Angeles Clippers #13 Paul George pull-up jump shot from the right side of the court at the Staple Center. Photo by Jerry Kelly/T.G.Sportstv1.
LOS ANGELES, CA - The Los Angeles Clippers used a 22-0 run in the fourth quarter to come back and defeat the Charlotte Hornets 120-106 on Sunday at the Staples Center. Paul George scored 20 points, and Reggie Jackson added 19 points to help the Clippers extend their win streak to four games.
"We're finding our rhythm," George said. "We've been pretty good defensively. Offensively is where we struggled to start the year, so that's our biggest improvement."
Charlotte held a nine-point lead with 6:07 remaining in the fourth quarter when the Clippers went on a 22-0 run to take a 115-102 lead with just over a minute left in the game. Former Chino Hills High School star LaMelo Ball finished with 21 points for the Hornets, who suffered their fourth straight loss.
The Hornets got off to a fast start after Miles Bridges made a 27-foot three-pointer to give Charlotte a 20-15 lead in the first quarter. Ball led the way with 13 points on 5 of 7 shooting to help Charlotte take a 39-31 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Charlotte Hornets #2 LaMelo Ball scored 21-points against the Los Angeles Clippers at the Staple Center. Photo by Jerry Kelly/T.G.Sportstv1.
Los Angeles trailed by 13 points before closing the gap to 43-41, with 9:13 left in the second quarter. Terance Mann drilled a buzzer-beating three to give the Clippers a 61-58 lead into halftime. Former Hornets Nicolas Batum had 13 points on 5 of 7 shooting in the first half.
"It was our defense," Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue said. "I think our defense really picked up with our physicality, and our attention to detail was a lot better. I thought our focus in the first half, physically, was pretty bad."
The back-and-forth action continued in the third quarter as both teams traded leads, but the Clippers pulled ahead 89-87. Gordon Hayward scored 10 points in the third to keep the Hornets in it, but Mann countered that with eight points and four rebounds.
Charlotte used a 12-2 run to take a 99-91 lead, but the Clippers answered with a 13-3 run to take back the lead 104-102 with 5:02 left in the fourth quarter. Luke Kennard hit a couple of threes with under two minutes left to pull away and close the game out.
The Clippers will host Portland on Tuesday, while the Hornets will stay in Los Angeles to take on the Lakers on Monday night.