Field Level Media
Feb 23, 2018
Sixth Man of the Year candidate Lou Williams had 35 points off the bench and Tobias Harris had 30 points and 12 rebounds as the Los Angeles Clippers blitzed the Phoenix Suns early and rolled to a 128-117 victory at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix on Friday.
Harris and Williams took turns personally dismantling the skidding Suns, who have lost eight straight and 13 of 14.
Harris scored 16 points in the first quarter, and the Clippers scored the first 19 points of the game. They led 24-2 en route to a 40-point first quarter.
Williams had 23 points in the second quarter, and his off-balance jumper with three seconds remaining in the first half extended the Clippers' lead to 79-50, their largest of the game.
Austin Rivers had 17 points for the Clippers, who shot 51.7 percent from the field and made 14 of 32 3-point attempts. Harris made 5 of 7 3-point attempts, and Williams and Rivers made three apiece.
Devin Booker and TJ Warren had 27 points apiece and Josh Jackson had 19 for the Suns, who have lost 16 of 18 and are tied with Atlanta for the worst record in the league.
The Clippers are 6-2 since trading Blake Griffin to Detroit on Jan. 29 and have won 14 of 20. Harris was the principal return in the package the Clippers received for Griffin.
Tyrone Wallace had 15 points and Montrezl Harrell had 12 for the Clippers, who are in a scramble for the final six playoff spots in the Western Conference. Eight teams are within four games of each other in that race.
The Suns have lost two games by a franchise-record 48 points and one by 46 this season. San Antonio outscored the Suns 28-9 in the first quarter and held a 100-50 lead one minute into the fourth quarter of a 129-81 victory on Feb. 7.
Phoenix center Alex Len had 14 points and 12 rebounds while starting for Tyson Chandler, who missed the game after receiving an MRI from a neck specialist for neck spasms that have bothered him off and on for two weeks. He has missed two of the last three games.
--Field Level Media