The Milwaukee Bucks traveled to the Los Angeles neck of the woods and defeated the Los Angeles Clippers on their home floor, 97-96, on Wednesday night at Staples Center.
The Bucks beat the Clippers for the second time in a dozen days. Milwaukee beat L.A. 112-101, at the Bradley Center in Wisconsin last Friday.
"They're aggressive and have a lot of length," said Clippers' point guard Chris Paul on what in particular the Bucks do that gives them problems. "It seems like everybody shoots the ball well against us. It seems like every time someone shoots a three against us, it goes in."
Giannis "The Greek Freak" Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 16 points, and Khris Middleton also had 16 points as six different Milwaukee players scored in double figures.
The Clippers defense continued to be as inconsistent as the weather in Los Angeles, as the Bucks bookended two low-scoring quarters with 28 and 30 points in the first and fourth respectively.
"We couldn't get the strings of stops that we needed to be a good team," said Clippers head coach Doc Rivers. "I just thought we failed to get big stops tonight."
issa block pic.twitter.com/RoEXPa1P5g — LA Clippers (@LAClippers) March 16, 2017
Sports
Get today's sports news out of Los Angeles. Here's the latest on the Dodgers, Lakers, Angels, Kings, Galaxy, LAFC, USC, UCLA and more LA teams.
The Clippers made it interesting down the stretch, after DeAndre Jordan completed a three-point play to bring L.A. within a point with 30 seconds remaining in the game. Blake Griffin had a chance to win it in regulation, but his jump hook in the lane bounced off the rim and the Clippers lost the game.
ONE. POINT. GAME.
30 seconds on the clock.
WATCH NOW: https://t.co/d5I1Zfa7m5 pic.twitter.com/kDH1oswVyK — NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) March 16, 2017
Jordan led all scorers with a game-high 22 points and 17 rebounds. Griffin chipped in 18 points and Chris Paul had six points, seven assists, and five rebounds.
With the loss, the Clippers fall three full games behind the Utah Jazz for fourth place in the Western Conference and just a 1.5 games ahead of the Thunder for sixth place.
Up Next:
The Clippers will have no time to hang their heads as they immediately head to the Mile High City to play the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night in a brutal back-to-back.
Update: DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin are expected to stay in Los Angeles and miss Thursday's game in Denver.
