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Clippers Steal 98-92 OT Win In Philadelphia

Rowan Kavner Digital Content Coordinator

Score: LAC 98 – PHI 92 OT

PHILADELPHIA - In any other place, the Clippers likely wouldn’t have found themselves in a position to tie with the game on the line.

But against the eight-win 76ers (8-44), after nearly 48 minutes of lackluster play resulting at one point in a 19-point deficit, the Clippers (35-17) still found themselves down just three points with a chance to tie, and J.J. Redick didn’t disappoint.

Next Game: 2/10

Tipoff: 4:30pm PDT

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The Clippers drew up a well-designed play for their 3-point specialist, one they’ve drawn up before but never finished to conclusion, and Redick knocked down the wide-open triple, sending the game to overtime where the Clippers immediately went on an 8-0 run in a 98-92 win.

“We executed out of that timeout,” Redick said of the game-tying 3-pointer. “It was just a little misdirection play. It’s funny, because we’ve been trying to run that play for a few games now and finally got to that ending.”

Redick said they started to run it against Miami, but in that game it led to a Jamal Crawford layup. This time, the play continued for a re-screen from DeAndre Jordan for Redick, who found himself wide open.

“That shot J.J. shot was all net,” said Chris Paul. “It was good the whole way. We didn’t get crazy excited. We still had to get a stop to get it into overtime.”

Jordan made sure of that, forcing Jahlil Okafor to miss a jumper. Then Jordan finished an alley-oop to begin overtime, giving the Clippers the lead for the first time since 2-0. The next basket, a bucket from Crawford, who finished with 23 points, gave the Clippers their largest lead of the game.

Paul, who had 19 points, seven assists and six rebounds, added a jumper for good measure and another dunk followed from Jordan, as the Clippers executed better than they had all night.

The Sixers threatened again late, as the Clippers, who shot just 36.8 percent and 22.7 percent from long range, went cold again. But much like it did in the fourth quarter to give the Clippers a chance, the defense came through in overtime enough to leave victoriously, with the Clippers now heading to Boston 3-0 thus far on the four-game road trip.

Much like in Miami, the Clippers couldn’t hit anything in the first quarter. Only this time, that shooting funk carried to the second quarter, and the third quarter, and most of the fourth. But the Sixers weren’t hitting either most of the night, finishing 37.8 percent from the floor with 21 turnovers, and all it would take was a small stretch of sustained offensive play to potentially leave with a win.

That came in the fourth quarter, with the Clippers going on an 8-2 run to cut the deficit to two points two separate times. The Sixers got it back up to four when an offensive rebound from Jordan led to free throws for him, and he split those, setting up the opportunity for Redick after a stop from the Clippers.

Key Moment: The Clippers trailed by 19 points midway through the second quarter, then Paul found ways to get to the line. Paul scored the next seven Clippers points from the line, then Jordan added another point from the charity stripe. The deficit got down to eight, and by halftime the Clippers were still in striking distance down 10 points.

Clippers Star: J.J. Redick – Every Clippers player struggled to connect for much of the night, but Redick still finished with 23 points and came up with the clutch shot at the time the Clippers needed it. Redick has at least 20 points in two of his last three games.

Sixers Star: Jerami Grant – He was an efficient 6-for-7, slamming down dunks and providing energy for the Sixers. Grant finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds, two assists and a block but dealt with foul trouble.

X-Factor: DeAndre Jordan – His defense down the stretch was crucial, and he finished with at least three blocks for the fifth straight game. Jordan also added 12 points and 21 rebounds, giving him his fourth game this season with at least 20 boards.

Quotes:

J.J. Redick – “Tonight was a weird night. First half, it felt like every shot I took was going in, and just like back-rimmed all of them. I had a couple really bad misses earlier in the game… But (the game-tying 3-pointer), I knew as soon as it left my hand it was good.”

Chris Paul – “It was ugly out there for most of the game. At one point I looked up in the second quarter, and I said ‘Dang, we’re down 17.’ I said that on the free-throw line to DJ. I said, ’Hey man, let’s try to get this thing down to 10 by the half.’”

Doc Rivers – “There were just a lot of little plays down the stretch. We finally decided to defend. What did they have, 59 at halftime? So first of all, I thought the defense was better. But again, we’re becoming that team that no matter how it looks or the game is being played, we’re finding ways at the end—it happened in Miami. Really, that’s what they talked about, we grinded the game out and this was one we didn’t really grind out until the end, but we did get the win and that’s important.”

NOTES: The Clippers won despite leading for just 13 seconds in regulation … The Clippers have now won nine straight games against the 76ers and start the four-game road trip 3-0 … Redick and Crawford had 23 points apiece, giving Crawford his fifth straight game with at least 20 points …The Clippers improved to 25-2 this season when holding opponents to fewer than 100 points … The Clippers also improved to 12-2 in their last 14 road games … The Clippers now go to Boston for their final game of the road trip and final game before the All-Star break …