LOS ANGELES – Brooklyn Nets recovered from a slow start to defeat Los Angeles Clippers, 124-108, in the 2021-2022 NBA Season on Monday night (Tuesday in the Philippines) at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California.
James Harden flirted with triple-double with 39 points, 15 assists and eight rebounds. Patty Mills and Nicholas Claxton each finished with 18 markers for the Nets.
Blake Griffin made his presence felt against his former team with 12 points and nine rebounds. Deandre Bembry contributed 12 markers as the shorthanded Nets stayed on top in the East with 23-9.
Trailing 10-18 early in the game, the Nets rode on outside shots by Harden and inside conversions from Griffin as they took a 38-33 advantage after the first quarter.
Brooklyn went on with its rampage in the second and third quarter with Mills connecting from the outside for its largest lead at 105-85 on a layup by Claxton.
The Clippers went on a strong run in the fourth period as they trimmed the deficit to 100-110 but a four-point play by Harden and a basket each from Mills and Claxton gave the Nets a comfortable 119-102 lead.
Marcus Morris Sr. top-scored with 24 points, including four outside hits, while Eric Bledsoe and Keon Johnson added 15 points each as the Clippers dropped to 17-17.
Meanwhile, Jordan Clarkson caught fire on offense as the shorthanded Utah Jazz defeated San Antonio Spurs, 110-104, at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.
The Filipino-American guard caught fire on offense with 23 points, eight rebounds and five assists as the Jazz notched its fourth consecutive victory to improve to 24-9 win-loss slate.
Bojan Bogdanovic added 19 points, Joe Ingles chipped in 17 markers, while Rudy Gobert contributed 16 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks for Utah, which were without star guard Donovan Mitchell.
BOX SCORE:
BROOKLYN 124 — Harden 39, Mills 18, Claxton 18, Griffin 12, Bembry 12, Brown 8, Carter 6, Johnson 4, Galloway 3, Millsap 2, Ennis 2, Harrison 0, Gabriel 0.
LOS ANGELES 108 — Morris 24, Bledsoe 15, Johnson 15, Kennard 10, Zubac 9, Boston 9, Coffey 8, Mann 6, Ibaka 6, Winslow 4, Moon 2.
Quarterscores: 38-33, 71-55, 101-81, 124-108./PN
