JOIN USChris Paul and the Los Angeles Clippers embraced their biggest test of the season in triumphant style on Wednesday, exploding in the second half to stun the NBA champion Miami Heat 107-100.
Trailing 54-52 at the game's midway point, the home team rocked the Heat's 'Big Three' of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, building a 20-point lead before fending off a late Miami rally to complete their fourth straight win.
Point guard Paul marshalled the Clippers superbly with 16 points and 10 assists in front of a sellout crowd of 19,000 at the Staples Center while twice All-Star forward Blake Griffin also had a double-double, with 20 points and 14 rebounds.
Jamal Crawford, the 2010 Sixth Man-of-the-Year when he was playing for the Atlanta Hawks, added 22 points off the bench to enhance his status as the highest scoring reserve in the league this season.
"We just got some big stops, came back and made some shots in the third quarter," Griffin told reporters after the Clippers out-rebounded the Heat 38-36 while improving their win-loss record to 6-2 for the season. "Miami is a tough team,’’ he added. "To have that kind of success in the second half, from both our first and second team, is a great thing. But we can't rest on a win like this. We can be even better,’’ Griffin said.
James was a tower of strength for the Heat with a game-high 30 points and seven assists while veteran guard Ray Allen contributed 14 points and Bosh 11 but the visitors paid a price after being restricted to 45.5 percent shooting from the field.
"We lost it in the third quarter," said eight-time All-Star forward and last season's NBA Finals MVP James, who led his team's scoring with 12-of-23 shooting from the field.
"Chris (Paul) was making bombs, back-to-back threes, and Blake had a good quarter too. They started making free throws and we couldn't recover from that,’’ he added.
Heat coach Eric Spoelstra was fulsome in his praise for the Clippers after his own team slipped to 6-3 for the season.
Results: Detroit: 94 bt Philadelphia: 76; Boston: 98 bt Utah: 93; Milwaukee: 99 bt Indiana: 85; Houston: 100 bt New Orleans: 96; Memphis: 107 bt Oklahoma City: 97; Charlotte: 89 bt Minnesota: 87; Dallas: 107 bt Washington: 101; Chicago: 112 bt Phoenix: 106 (OT); LA Clippers: 107 bt Miami: 100; Golden State: 92 bt Atlanta: 88.