Griffin's Game-Winning Shot Lifts The Los Angeles Clippers Over Sacramento Kings

Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers shouts out instructions in the fourth quarter to his team. The Clippers beat the Sacramento Kings 97-95 at Golden 1 Center. Publicity Agents photo art by T. Ray Harvey. Nov. 25, 2017.

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Sacramento, Calif. –After losing nine-consecutive games, before defeating the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday, the Los Angeles Clippers faced another mini-milestone, one they don’t mind keeping over the Sacramento Kings.

The Los Angeles Clippers rode into Sacramento with nine-straight road wins against the Kings that date back to April 17, 2013. Blake Griffin and company trotted out of town safe and sound with the sequence uninterrupted.

They beat the Kings 97-95 on a 10-foot, fade-away shot by Griffin with 3.7 seconds left to play. Griffin ended with a game-high 33 point, five assists, four rebounds, and one steal.

“Well, it was just an ISO play,” he said of the game-winning shot. “I tried to get in a little close. The Kings clogged the paint up pretty well. So, I just settled for a little further away.”

Lou Williams, starting in his second-consecutive game, had 18 points, eight assists, and four steals for the Clippers (7-11). He also made 4 of 7 3-pointers in 36 minutes.

Griffin and Williams scored 12 points each of the Clippers’ 29 points in the third quarter, which was a disaster for Sacramento. The Kings only scored 10 points in the third frame after commanding an 18-point lead.

“You know, I don’t think anyone panicked,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. “They had 61 points at halftime and a team that’s averages 95 points per game. We said if we get into them, we got a chance to win. If you don’t, they’re young, (and) they’ll beat you.

Buddy Hield is young and he was trying to beat the Clippers singlehandedly. In a reserve role, Hield had 27 points, five rebounds, and two assists for the Kings (5-14). He also made 7 of nine treys in nearly 26 minutes.

He was regulated to take the last shot of the game after Griffin broke a 95-95 tie. Hield barely got an off-the-mark shot to go before time expired. DeAndre Jordan of the Clippers didn’t give Hield any room to go through his mechanics.

“Its’ running through my head now, what I could’ve done to get a better shot off. But it was a great defensive play,” Hield said. “But we’ve gotta do a better job of keeping leads and not let teams get back (in it). This is the NBA. Teams are going to run."

Willie Cauley-Stein looks to score. Publicity Agents Photo Art by T. Ray Harvey. Nov. 25, 2017.

Zach Randolph had 17 points, seven rebounds, three assists, one steal for the Kings. George Hill and Willie Cauley-Stein had 10 points each.

The Kings lead 31-25 to end the first quarter, and then built a 45-30 lead on a lay up by Bogdanovic in the second quarter, Sacramento’s biggest lead in the first half. But the NBA, teams have to play the full 48 minutes for a victory.

The Kings opened up the third quarter by creating a 65-47 margin before going on a crucial scoring drought. The Clippers went on a 17-0 run, capped off by a 3-pointer by Griffin. The Kings failed to score in nearly seven minutes while the Clippers ran wild.

Randolph broke the dry spell when he made two free throws to make the score 67-64 at the 5:07 mark. On the Clippers next possession, Williams made a trey to tie the game. One more tie took place at 69-69, but the Clippers closed the quarter out with a 7-0 run.

The Clippers managed to expand their lead 95-85 on a 3-point basket by Wesley Johnson in the fourth quarter. Hield scored eight of the Kings next 10 points, including a trey to tie the game up 95-95 with 15.6 seconds left. After the Clippers came out of a timeout, Griffin had 14.8 seconds left on the clock, which he came through in about 12 seconds.

“It was big for us to go home and have theses last two go our way on the road,” Williams said. “(We) have a couple at home to try to get this back on track.”

PUBLIC INFORMATION:

Sacramento Kings:

• The Kings 18-point blown lead is the second-highest at Golden 1 Center this season. Sacramento fumbled a 19-point margin to the New Orleans Pelicans on Oct. 26.

• Buddy Hield had 16 points in the fourth quarter, tying teammate Garrett Temple, who had 16 in the fourth at Phoenix on Oct. 13.

Los Angeles Clippers:

• Lou Williams made his second start of the season against the Kings. In 16 games off the bench, he has averaged 17.1 points, ranking second in the NBA among all reserves. Tyreke Evans of the Memphis Grizzlies ranks first at 17.7 points per game off the bench.

• DeAndre Jordan is donating $100 per rebound this season to Hurricane Harvey relief in Houston, Texas. Jordan 16 rebounds in the game against the Kings. He has already donated $23,500 to date.

On The Marquee:

Sacramento Kings: On the road at Golden State on Nov. 27.

Los Angeles Clippers: At home hosting the Los Angeles Lakers on Nov. 27.

By T. Ray Harvey | PA Public Information Officer and Photographic Artist

Twitter: Tony Ray Harvey @PublicityAgents

T. Ray (Antonio) Harvey is a Public Information Officer and Photographic Artist for Publicity Agents. Harvey is also the author of The HOMICIDAL HANDYMAN OF OAK PARK: MORRIS SOLOMON JR.