4-0

Paul Pierce and the Los Angeles Clippers will go into their key Wednesday night matchup with the Golden State Warriors undefeated.

After The Truth’s late heroics against the Sacramento Kings in the season opener, the Clippers have kept rolling in wins over the Dallas Mavericks, Kings and Phoenix Suns en route to a 4-0 record to start the season.

“It’s good to start the season like this,” center DeAndre Jordan said. “Four-and-oh is a pretty good start. But we’ve got to be able keep it going and improve with every game, find out which rotations work the best and which units work the best. We’ve got a long season to go and we’ve still got a lot of work to do.”

Paul and the rest of the L.A. reserves were key in Monday night’s victory over the Suns. Paul had seven points, six boards and two assists in 23 minutes of work, as head coach Doc Rivers has continued his commitment to keeping The Truth fresh for the long haul.

The Clippers starting unit was lethargic to open the game, but Paul and the bench gave Los Angeles the shot in the arm it needed. A 15-0 run carried out by Paul, Jamal Crawford, Wesley Johnson and Austin rivers turned an eight-point second-quarter deficit into a seven-point lead.

“I thought our bench won the game tonight and turned the game around with their energy,” Rivers said. “They came in during the first half when we were struggling and came out with a seven-point lead. But I just want one game where both units play well at the same time.”

L.A. led by as many as 12 points in that second quarter, but the young Suns battled back. Phoenix took a brief lead in the third quarter, but the Clippers reclaimed the advantage just before the final frame began. Paul buried a key three-pointer in the fourth quarter to help keep the Suns just at arm’s length in the 102-96 win.

“I think it’s very important,” point guard Chris Paul said of the contributions by the reserves. “If you look at the teams that are the most successful in our league, they have that depth. Our bench was amazing tonight, and we’re going to need that.”

Paul had just three points in a quiet 14-minute night on Saturday against the Kings. Looking for vengance from the season opener, Sacramento opened up a seven-point lead in the first quarter. However, the Clippers took over in the second and never really looked back. The Kings threatened early in the fourth, but L.A. closed out the 114-109 win behind 14 fourth-quarter points from Blake Griffin.

The Truth had a fairly easy go of it two nights prior against the Mavs. He played 20 minutes, tallying six points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals. He provided a plus-17 scoring advantage on the floor. The Clippers went on top at the 8:17 mark in the first quarter and never trailed again, leading by as many as 26 in the 104-88 victory on TNT’s Thurday night.

NEXT UP

Paul and the Clips will be back in the national spotlight on Wednesday night, when they take on reigning MVP Stephen Curry and the the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors (4-0).

Also undefeated, the Warriors have cruised past the New Orleans Pelicans twice and the Houston Rockets and Memphis Grizzlies en route to their unblemished record. They’ve outscored their opponents by an average of 25 points per game—far and away the best mark in the NBA.

The Clips went 1-3 in four tough contests with the Warriors a season ago. In 29 career meetings with Golden State, Paul has averaged 22.3 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game.

Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. PT from the Staples Center, and the game will air nationally on ESPN.