CP3's passes steal the show, but Clippers forced to fend off Kings
A few terrific NBA highlights sometimes give the impression that one team clowned on the other over the course of an entire game. That impression seemed true for a good portion of Friday night’s game between the Los Angeles Clippers and Sacramento Kings at the Golden 1 Center. The visiting Clippers continued to look like one of the league’s best teams in taking a 40-26 advantage after one quarter and maintaining a 19-point point lead into the fourth. No one would have been surprised to see them notch their fifth 20-point win of the young season.
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In part, that’s because they looked so good doing it. Just watch this pass from Chris Paul through four Kings on its way to Blake Griffin:
CP3 went just 2-of-10 from the field — maybe the impact of his eye surgery on his shooting form has been a little overrated — but he controlled the contest as usual with 12 assists. This pass ahead to Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (and just out of the reach of Kosta Koufos) set the tone early:
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However, a funny thing happened in the final period — the Kings wrested away control of the game and nearly pulled off an improbable upset. The previously inconsistent DeMarcus Cousins began to take over, contributing in every facet to finish with 38 points (12-of-29 FG, 12-of-14 FT), 13 rebounds, seven assists, and three steals. Matt Barnes split free throws to cut the deficit to 117-115 with 2:03 remaining, but Sacramento was unable to score the rest of the way. Two missed free throws from Paul in the final 40 seconds opened up a slight chance for the Kings, but it was not enough to stop the Clippers’ 121-115 win.
The 11-2 Clippers will head back home to Staples Center on Saturday to face the Chicago Bulls, another team that looks sharp in the early going. We’ll see how much the highlights tell the story in that one.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at efreeman_ysports@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
