Clippers Complete Comeback to Defeat Celtics 116-102

Don't look now, but the Clippers are heating up.

Chris Paul scored 23 points as Los Angeles won their second straight game, 116-102, over the Boston Celtics at Staples Center on Monday night. 

Paul was tasked with the difficult challenge of chasing Celtics' guard Isaiah Thomas all over the court, and although Thomas scored 32 in the game, the leading scorer in the NBA in the fourth quarter was held to just ten points in the final frame. 

The back-and-forth battle saw eight different lead changes, with the Celtics leading by as many as 13 points midway through the third quarter.

Clippers' shooting guard J.J. Redick was struggling on both ends of the court to guard the backcourt duo of Thomas and Avery Bradley, so Doc Rivers wisely took him out of the game and inserted Jamal Crawford. 

"He just had one of those nights," said Rivers of Redick. "Avery Bradley makes a lot of guys have those nights. He may be the best on-ball defender in the league. Bringing in Jamal and Mo allowed them to get going and other guys to get going and that really helped us."

Crawford, A.K.A. "J-Crossover" went unconscious for the remainder of the game, scoring 19 points off the bench, including four-of-five from beyond the arc. Redick did not see the floor again.

"The moment was in the second half when I hit a three in the corner," said Crawford of when he felt he started to heat up. "From there I knew it was on. My teammates and coaches saw it and they said 'just go.' It was a total team effort."

H E A T C H E C K ?

Yup. �� pic.twitter.com/uQ7h5XP2mD — LA Clippers (@LAClippers) March 7, 2017

"When he gets hot, it's 'get out of the way and let him do his thing,'" said teammate Blake Griffin. "He can miss ten shots straight, but he'll make the next twenty. There's never a time where you don't think the next shot is going in, you're just waiting for it."

With Crawford on the court, the Clippers quickly erased a 13-point deficit, turning it into an 18-point lead by the fourth quarter.

41-14 run. �� pic.twitter.com/28ED9hsEAG — LA Clippers (@LAClippers) March 7, 2017

Blake Griffin had 26 points and DeAndre Jordan scored 15 points with 12 rebounds despite shooting 3-for-16 from the free-throw line.

The Clippers had lost four-of-five with their only winning coming in overtime against the Hornets, but after back-to-back blowouts to the Rockets and Bucks, L.A. has defeated two Eastern Conference playoff teams by double-digits in their last two games.

"We're getting better, but we still have a ways to go," said Paul after the game. "It's good to win and figure it out at the same time, but we still have a ways to go."

After defeating the Lakers on Friday at Staples Center, the Celtics have dropped back-to-back games to the Phoenix Suns and Clippers. They continue to trail the Cleveland Cavaliers by three games in the Eastern Conference.

Clippers' forward Paul Pierce received two different video tributes during the game because his former team was in town. Fans in attendance started to chant "Paul Pierce" in the fourth quarter, but with the game still within single digits down the stretch, Rivers opted not to insert 19-year veteran into the game.

Up Next:

The Clippers will head to Minnesota to face the Timberwolves on Wednesday.