(AP) Clippers stop Bucks’ streak with 117-101 victory
By BETH HARRIS
AP Sports Writer
LOS ANGELES
Blake Griffin had 23 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists for his third career triple-double, and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Milwaukee Bucks 117-101 on Wednesday night for their 10th win in 13 games.
Jamal Crawford had 25 points and Matt Barnes added 20, while Chris Paul had 14 points and nine assists to help the Pacific Division leaders improve to 24-7 at home.
Monta Ellis scored 18 of his 22 points in the first half and Ersan Ilyasova added 20 points for the Bucks, whose four-game winning streak ended as they fell to 1-12 in Los Angeles against the Clippers since the 2000-01 season. Brandon Jennings hit five 3-pointers for 18 points and 12 assists.
The Clippers opened the fourth quarter with a seven-point lead and quickly extended it to 108-91. Barnes sandwiched 3s around consecutive baskets by Eric Bledsoe, who also hit a 3. Griffin capped the spurt with a thunderous dunk off Crawford’s alley-oop pass after the guard went streaking to the basket and passed the ball between his legs before finding Griffin.
That move got the crowd on its feet roaring heading into a timeout.
Griffin’s assists were a career high and helped him record his first triple-double since March 23, 2011, when he had 33 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists against Washington. He notched the triple-double by grabbing a miss by J.J. Redick with about six minutes left in the game, and checked out to a standing ovation with 3:55 remaining.
Barnes made six 3s in helping the Clippers go 12 of 29 from long-range and complete a season sweep of the Bucks.
The Clippers led by 15 points in the second quarter, thanks to a 16-2 run that included two 3s by Barnes and one by Chauncey Billups. Both teams shot better than 50 percent in the half, and the Clippers finished at 54 percent for the game.
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