Maybe they saved the best for last.
J.J. Redick shot the lights out and the Los Angeles Clippers snapped a four-game losing streak against the reigning NBA Champion Cleveland Cavaliers, 113-94, on Thursday night at Quicken Loans Arena.
Redick scored 23 points and was 4-for-6 from downtown as the Clippers also snapped a season-worst three-game losing streak on their current six-game road trip.
The Clippers had not defeated the Cavaliers since LeBron James returned to his hometown team before the 2014-2015 season. The Clippers last victory over the Cavs was on March 16, 2014.
A fresh Blake Griffin may have made the difference in the game as the Clippers forward did not play in the team's double overtime loss to Brooklyn on Tuesday. Griffin messed around and nearly had a triple-double with 13 points, 11 assists and five rebounds.
Chris Paul had 16 points, nine assists and six rebounds and DeAndre Jordan grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds.
Cleveland led by six points in the first quarter, but the Clippers broke the game open in the second and went into halftime with a four-point lead.
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Los Angeles would never trail again as they opened the third quarter on an 8-0 run thanks to alley-oop dunks from Redick, Paul and Griffin to Jordan as Lob City landed in full force in Cleveland.
Back-2️⃣-Back! DJ goes �� then ⬆️
Clippers start the 2nd half on ������
LAC 71 | CLE 54#ItTakesEverything pic.twitter.com/xxOwglc0Fh — LA Clippers (@LAClippers) December 2, 2016
L.A. extended their lead in fourth quarter, as they went ahead by as many as 23 points before the reserves entered the game.
The lopsided loss was the second largest of the season for the Cavs, and comes on the heels of a 17-point loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday.
Kyrie Irving led the Cavs with 28 points and LeBron James finished with 16 points, five rebounds and five assists.
The Clippers had a season-high 33 assists in the game, whereas the Cavs had just 12 assists to go with 18 turnovers.
Players of the Game:
J.J. Redick: 23 points, 4 three-pointers
Blake Griffin: 13 points, 11 assists.
Kyrie Irving: 28 points
Three Takeaways:
1. Pass the Rock: Blake Griffin had a career-high eight assists in the first half and nearly had more assists (11) then the Cavaliers had in the entire game (12).
Blake Griffin had 8️⃣ assists in the 1st half...most of his career in a half.
Here's his 9th. ��#ItTakesEverything pic.twitter.com/DUSSQ5Rjtt — LA Clippers (@LAClippers) December 2, 2016
2. Red Hot Redick: J.J. Redick was 4-of-6 from beyond the arc and has now made a three-pointer in 76 straight games, the sixth longest streak in NBA history.
JJ has now made a three 76 straight games ➡️ 6️⃣th-longest streak in @NBA history.#ItTakesEverything pic.twitter.com/JxrIauydTp — LA Clippers (@LAClippers) December 2, 2016
3. Sportsperson of the Year: Before the game, Sports Illustrated, named LeBron James their 2016 Sportsperson of the Year. Here is slamming home a windmill dunk against the Clippers.
LeBron WINDMILL SLAM! �� https://t.co/b5Ce0QH2WY — NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) December 2, 2016
Up Next:
Clippers (15-5): L.A.'s six-game road trip concludes in the Big Easy where they will face Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night.
Cavaliers (13-4): LeBron James will reunite with old running mate, Dwyane Wade as Cleveland heads to Chicago to face the Bulls on Friday.
