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Clippers' streak reaches 17

 
Published Dec. 31, 2012

LOS ANGELES — Jamal Crawford scored 11 of his 19 in the fourth quarter and the Clippers beat the Jazz 107-96 Sunday night for their 17th consecutive victory, making them the third team in NBA history to record a perfect month.

The Clippers went 16-0 in December to join the Spurs in March 1996 and the Lakers in November and December 1971 as the only teams to go undefeated over a month. Their franchise-record winning streak is the longest since Boston won 19 in a row four years ago.

Caron Butler led the Clippers with 29 points, making all six of his 3-pointers. Chris Paul added 19 points and nine assists to help them maintain the league's best record at 25-6.

Al Jefferson scored 30, one off his season high, to lead Utah, which fell victim for the third time during the Clippers' streak. The Jazz lost 116-114 Friday when the Clippers rallied from 19 points down and fell 105-104 on Dec. 3, both times at home.

Utah lost its third in a row.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS: Isaiah Thomas scored 27 and made one of Sacramento's two four-point plays in the second half as the Kings handed the Celtics their third straight lopsided loss on a California road swing, 118-96. … Tony Parker had 21 points and nine assists, Manu Ginobili had several key baskets among his 20 points and the visiting Spurs handed the Mavericks their sixth straight loss, 111-86.

AROUND THE LEAGUE: Former Magic coach Stan Van Gundy told the Los Angeles Times he believes Dwight Howard's April back surgery and diminished role in the offense have contributed to his slow start with the Lakers. "I don't think he looks quite as explosive or as quick as he has in the past," said Van Gundy, who coached Howard in Orlando for five seasons. "Now, he's still above almost everyone in the league at that size athletically, but he has not totally looked like himself to me." … Rockets first-round pick Royce White refused his assignment to Houston's D-League affiliate. White, the 16th overall pick in June, has spent most of the season on the inactive list while he and the team figure out how to handle his anxiety disorder and overall mental health. … Nets general manager Billy King said the team has "not contacted anybody" about replacing fired coach Avery Johnson.

Clippers 107, Jazz 96

UTAH (96): Carroll 2-5 1-2 6, Millsap 2-7 5-9 9, Jefferson 13-22 4-5 30, Tinsley 3-7 1-2 8, Foye 3-8 2-3 10, Hayward 5-15 5-5 16, Watson 0-3 0-0 0, Favors 3-6 5-6 11, Burks 1-4 0-0 2, Kanter 1-3 2-2 4. Totals 33-80 25-34 96.

L.A. CLIPPERS (107): Butler 10-14 3-4 29, Griffin 3-5 1-5 7, Jordan 4-7 6-8 14, Paul 7-14 5-5 19, Green 2-4 1-1 5, Crawford 7-16 4-4 19, Odom 0-5 0-0 0, Barnes 3-4 0-0 7, Bledsoe 2-5 0-0 4, Turiaf 1-4 1-2 3. Totals 39-78 21-29 107.

Utah 24 21 31 20— 96

L.A. Clippers 29 25 25 28— 107

3-Point GoalsUtah 5-13 (Foye 2-2, Carroll 1-2, Tinsley 1-3, Hayward 1-4, Watson 0-1, Burks 0-1), L.A. Clippers 8-18 (Butler 6-6, Barnes 1-2, Crawford 1-5, Odom 0-1, Green 0-1, Paul 0-3). Fouled OutNone. ReboundsUtah 51 (Jefferson, Carroll 8), L.A. Clippers 52 (Odom 8). AssistsUtah 29 (Tinsley 11), L.A. Clippers 25 (Paul 9). Total FoulsUtah 24, L.A. Clippers 26. TechnicalsTinsley, Barnes, Griffin. A19,111 (19,060).

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Kings 118, Celtics 96

BOSTON (96): Pierce 8-15 0-0 20, Garnett 7-13 2-2 16, Collins 0-2 0-0 0, Rondo 1-6 0-0 2, Terry 7-12 4-4 20, Bass 3-5 0-0 6, Green 5-17 5-7 16, Sullinger 2-5 6-6 10, Lee 0-6 0-0 0, Barbosa 1-3 0-0 2, Varnado 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 36-86 17-19 96.

SACRAMENTO (118): Salmons 9-12 3-3 23, Thompson 8-11 4-8 20, Cousins 4-12 4-4 12, Thomas 10-15 4-5 27, Thornton 2-7 0-0 5, Robinson 1-1 0-0 2, Garcia 2-7 0-0 5, Hayes 0-2 2-2 2, Johnson 3-5 3-3 10, Fredette 4-9 0-0 10, Honeycutt 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 44-82 20-25 118.

Boston 18 31 24 23— 96

Sacramento 24 30 30 34— 118

3-Point GoalsBoston 7-22 (Pierce 4-8, Terry 2-4, Green 1-4, Barbosa 0-1, Lee 0-2, Rondo 0-3), Sacramento 10-20 (Thomas 3-7, Fredette 2-3, Salmons 2-4, Johnson 1-1, Garcia 1-2, Thornton 1-3). Fouled OutNone. ReboundsBoston 43 (Garnett 12), Sacramento 52 (Cousins 10). AssistsBoston 25 (Rondo 10), Sacramento 28 (Cousins 10). Total FoulsBoston 23, Sacramento 21. A15,305 (17,317).

Spurs 111, Mavericks 86

SAN ANTONIO (111): Leonard 2-5 0-0 5, Duncan 7-14 4-4 18, Splitter 4-9 5-6 13, Parker 10-17 1-1 21, Green 3-7 0-0 8, Diaw 4-6 1-2 10, Ginobili 6-12 6-6 20, Jackson 2-3 3-3 8, Mills 2-6 0-0 5, Blair 0-0 1-2 1, De Colo 0-1 0-0 0, Bonner 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 41-81 21-24 111.

DALLAS (86): Carter 5-11 2-2 13, Marion 0-4 2-2 2, Kaman 6-12 1-2 13, Collison 9-13 0-0 18, Mayo 4-14 0-0 8, Crowder 2-6 2-2 6, Brand 7-11 0-0 14, Nowitzki 3-9 2-2 8, Douglas-Roberts 1-4 0-0 2, Beaubois 1-7 0-0 2, Wright 0-4 0-0 0, Da.Jones 0-0 0-0 0, Do.Jones 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 38-95 9-10 86.

San Antonio 27 30 25 29— 111

Dallas 22 23 25 16— 86

3-Point GoalsSan Antonio 8-19 (Green 2-3, Ginobili 2-5, Diaw 1-1, Leonard 1-2, Jackson 1-2, Mills 1-4, De Colo 0-1, Parker 0-1), Dallas 1-16 (Carter 1-4, Nowitzki 0-1, Crowder 0-2, Douglas-Roberts 0-2, Beaubois 0-3, Mayo 0-4). Fouled OutNone. ReboundsSan Antonio 49 (Duncan 10), Dallas 52 (Brand 10). AssistsSan Antonio 21 (Parker 9), Dallas 23 (Collison 8). Total FoulsSan Antonio 9, Dallas 21. A19,928 (19,200).

Pistons 96, Bucks 94

MILWAUKEE (94): Daniels 3-9 1-2 7, Mbah a Moute 1-3 0-0 2, Sanders 2-4 0-2 4, Jennings 3-12 2-2 9, Ellis 12-22 3-4 30, Ilyasova 9-12 3-4 24, Dunleavy 3-7 0-0 9, Udoh 0-0 0-0 0, Udrih 0-1 0-0 0, Gooden 3-7 3-3 9. Totals 36-77 12-17 94.

DETROIT (96): Prince 8-16 4-4 20, Maxiell 5-8 0-0 10, Monroe 6-12 2-3 14, Knight 4-12 1-2 11, Singler 2-11 4-4 8, Bynum 4-9 0-0 8, Drummond 4-4 0-0 8, Villanueva 4-8 0-0 11, Daye 2-2 0-0 5, English 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 39-82 12-15 96.

Milwaukee 23 22 26 23— 94

Detroit 30 25 23 18— 96

3-Point GoalsMilwaukee 10-23 (Ilyasova 3-3, Dunleavy 3-5, Ellis 3-7, Jennings 1-4, Gooden 0-1, Udrih 0-1, Daniels 0-2), Detroit 6-18 (Villanueva 3-7, Knight 2-5, Daye 1-1, Bynum 0-1, Prince 0-2, Singler 0-2). Fouled OutNone. ReboundsMilwaukee 37 (Jennings, Daniels 6), Detroit 55 (Monroe, Maxiell 10). AssistsMilwaukee 19 (Ellis 9), Detroit 16 (Bynum 5). Total FoulsMilwaukee 18, Detroit 13. A14,219 (22,076).

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