(The Sports Xchange) – Guard Jamal Crawford scored 32 points and forward Blake Griffin had 28 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists, guiding the Los Angeles Clippers past the Orlando Magic 103-101 on Saturday night at the Staples Center.
Forward Wesley Johnson came off the bench to score 21 points and grab seven rebounds and center DeAndre Jordan produced 15 points and 14 rebounds for the Clippers (11-9), who snapped the Magic’s five-game winning streak. Those four produced all but seven of the Clippers’ points.
Guard Victor Oladipo scored 24 points and guard Elfrid Payton added 21 points and eight assists for the Magic (11-9).
The Clippers were without point guard Chris Paul, who missed his second straight game with an inflamed rib cartilage, and shooting guard J.J. Redick, out with a right ankle sprain suffered in Wednesday’s loss to the Indiana Pacers.
In their absence, Crawford and Johnson provided a shooting exhibition behind the 3-point stripe, combining to hit 12 of 21 shots. The Magic managed six 3-pointers as a team.
Olidipo’s jumper gave Orlando an 89-77 cushion with 9:16 left in the game, but Los Angeles came back. Crawford’s 3-pointer allowed the Clippers to take a 97-96 lead with 3:02 left. They never trailed again.
Orlando forward Jason Smith’s putback with 50.05 seconds remaining cut the deficit to one again. However, forward Tobias Harris, who finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds, missed a contested off-balance jumper with 12.9 seconds left.
Crawford converted one of two foul shots with 10 seconds remaining for a 102-100 lead. Guard Austin Rivers hit one of two free throws to make it 103-100. Payton hit the first of two free throws and intentionally missed the second to give Orlando a chance, but the Clippers gained possession when the ball bounced out of bounds.
Crawford sparked a 14-4 run by scoring seven points midway through the second quarter, including a four-point play with 5:16 left, for a 44-35 advantage. Orlando cut the gap to one before the Clippers took a 53-50 lead at the break.
Crawford scored 10 points in the quarter, hitting 3 of 4 3-pointers. Overall, Los Angeles shot 45.1 percent from the field compared with 44.4 percent for the Magic.
