November 17, 2012; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Clippers power forward Blake Griffin defends against Bulls center Joakim Noah (13) during the second half at Staples Center. (Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE)
It was Saturday night at the Staples Center as the Los Angeles Clippers took on the visiting Chicago Bulls, on Nov. 17.
If you haven’t done so, check out the game preview here.
Onto the game and it was quiet frankly, presumably disappointing. Although the Clippers had the upper hand in offense, the Bulls were known to have a better defense. That said, it should’ve been a close bout, but it wasn’t. Let’s see what happen.
Blake Griffin led the Clippers to victory, as he had 26 points, two steals and two assists while Jamal Crawford had 22 points coming off the bench.
For the Bulls, surprisingly it was Carlos Boozer who led the pack with 22 points, 11 rebounds, while Richard Hamilton contributed with 14 points, and Nate Robinson adding 11 off the bench.
During the first quarter, both teams went back and forth with the lead changing every so often. One of the highlights from the first quarter when Griffin obtained the steal, dished to Chris Paul who then threw it up for the alley-oop slam by Griffin. Griffin scored 12 of his 26 points in the six minutes remaining in the fourth. End of one quarter and the Clippers lead by 3, 18-15.
In the second quarter, the Clippers took over the game from there. Leading by a mere nine points, Jamal Crawford made the easy jump shot. Crawford was on fire this game as he made another jump shots and jumpers beyond the arch, as well as driving in the paint. That quarter alone, he had 17 points. Halftime, and the Clippers still lead, this time by 13, 50-43.
The third quarter began with Clipper’s Willie Green driving for the layup, with the assists from Chris Paul. Boozer would late retaliate with a fade away jumper.
Halfway through, and the lead just turns into double digits for the Clippers as Griffin makes the jumper, from Chris Paul. Clippers lead 71-48. However, the Bulls did bring try to fight back as Boozer making a layup and Hamilton sinking in free throws. Still, it wasn’t enough Clippers finished that quarter 78-61.
I the fourth quarter, the Bulls tried making a comeback but it wasn’t enough, as Eric Bledsoe gets the last bucket of the game for the Clippers, making the final score an overwhelming 101-80 win.
What went wrong was that the Clipper’s had a tremendous bench. Though their starters were dropping buckets, it was their bench who secured the win. At points of the game, the Clippers bench had 35 points, while the starters had 18. The Bulls bench was weak, as they only had eight points, at that time.
Surprisingly enough, Joakim Noah was nowhere to be found in this game. He went from 0-6 from the field, finally getting his only four points with 30 minutes of playtime.
Looking at the game statistically, and the Clippers beat the Bulls in every category, except rebounds. Los Angeles had only 12 turnovers (compared to Chicago’s 15) had 26 fast break points (Bulls 10), lead by 26 (Bulls biggest lead was 2), and had 48 points in the game (Chicago 26). Although the Bulls outrebounded the Clippers, they shouldn’t be proud as they only had 4 more rebounds at 45 (Clippers 41).
The Clippers are still off to a good start as they are 7-2 in the season, while the Bulls are 5-3 now.
The Clippers would have a short break, as they hit the road to play the San Antonio Spurs on Monday, while the Bulls visit Portland, to play against the Portland Trailblazers on Sunday.