Paul's 3s Bury Blazers - The Official Web Site of Paul Pierce

Paul Pierce went wild from three-point land in Portland, and the Los Angeles Clippers marched on to their NBA-leading seventh consecutive victory.

No. 34 was red-hot from beyond the arc, going 5-of-6 for 17 points, adding four rebounds, two steals and an assist along the way as the Clips dominated the Trail Blazers, 109-98. Running through 19 Chris Paul assists, the ball movement was outstanding from the Clippers, who shot 50.6 percent from the field collectively.

“We’re just doing a good job of feeding the pig, as Doc likes to say,” said guard J.J. Redick. “I think the thing we’re beginning to understand better as a team collectively is just if a play is called for you, it doesn’t mean it’s your shot. It’s your responsibility on that play to make sure the team gets a good shot.”

This team-centric play has been crucial to the Clips’ success of late. They played their sixth straight game without injured star Blake Griffin in the lineup. The Truth replaced him in the starting lineup for all but one game during that stretch—this past weekend’s win over the Philadelphia 76ers, where No. 34 was out to grab some well deserved rest.

But the Clips have altered their gameplan without their top scorer. While the offense used to largely hinge on Griffin, the ball has spread out. Much of that spacing has come thanks to Paul playing more of a stretch-four role in Griffin’s slot. As he explained recently, it only takes a little bit of real estate to make a difference.

“Space is space,” The Truth said. “If you added this much more space to your house, would you have more room? I’m just sayin’…”

The space made for easy buckets all around for Los Angeles, which had six players in double figures. Jamal Crawford and Austin Rivers had 10 and 16, respectively, off the bench. Renowned glass cleaner DeAndre Jordan posted a 14-and-14 double-double, Redick hit the 20-point plateau for the fourth time in the last six games with No. 34 starting, while CP3 had 21 points and an eye-popping 19 dimes.

“I always say getting assists, I’ve got the easy part,” CP3 said. “All I’ve got to do is pass it. The other guy has the hard part, making the shots. J.J. made shots, DJ dunked, Paul, Wes, all those guys.”

Paul and Co. were certainly making their shots. No. 34 splashed a three-pointer to break a 2-2 tie at the 10:28 mark, and the Clippers never trailed from then on. He knocked down a pair of free throws on the next possession and hit again from beyond the arc to give L.A. a 22-10 lead.

Los Angeles shot 54.5 percent from the floor in the first to take a 31-18 lead. On the other floor, the Blazer offense was out of sorts. In a strange turn of events, Portland’s top scorer, shooting guard C.J. McCollum, was mistakenly left off the lineup card and was thus inactive for the game. It took a while for his team to find its way in his absence.

The Clips only extended their lead in the second. Paul registered a steal on Al-Farouq Aminu, which led to a Chris Paul layup on the other end, putting L.A. up 19. On the following possession, No. 34 hit yet another three to make that lead 22. The Truth had three threes and 11 points as the Clippers led 63-40 at the break.

Behind Damian Lillard and Mason Plumlee, the Blazers chipped their way back to within 12 in the third, where No. 34 responded with his fourth three-ball to fluff the cushion back up to 15. That is where it stood for the start of the fourth quarter.

In that final frame, six was the magic number. Four times the Blazers cut the Los Angeles lead to six, and four times the Clippers beat back the rally. It first happened at the 8:32 mark and Wesley Johnson fired off a three to make it a nine-point lead once again. A couple of minutes later, a Meyers Leonard three knocked it back down to six, and Redick responded, canning a three. On the next possession, Lillard hit from deep to cut it to six once again, where CP3 responded with a mid-range J to make it eight. As the Clipper point guard said afterward, The Truth was instrumental in quelling the Portland rallies.

“That’s the thing that we always try to talk about, especially Paul (Pierce). Paul jumped up in the huddle one time and just told everybody to ‘Calm down, we got the lead,'” CP3 revealed. “We have the tendency as a team that everybody gets excited and a little rattled, but we just have to be cool like we’ve been there before.”

When No. 34 checked back in with 4:36 to go, the lead was back down to six again, the result of a Mo Harkless dunk. Jordan added a free throw shortly after Paul re-entered, then The Truth himself dropped his fifth long-range bomb of the night to make it double digits. If that wasn’t the dagger, Paul delivered it on the defensive end shortly thereafter. He swiped a Leonard pass which led to a bucket by Rivers on the other end that stretched the lead back to 11 with less than two minutes to go, effectively sealing the seventh straight victory for the NBA’s hottest team.

WESTERN CONFERENCE STANDINGS – Jan. 7

1. Golden State Warriors (33-2)

2. San Antonio Spurs (31-6)

3. Oklahoma City Thunder (25-11)

4. Los Angeles Clippers (23-13)

5. Dallas Mavericks (21-15)

6. Memphis Grizzlies (19-18)

7. Houston Rockets (17-19)

8. Utah Jazz (15-19)

NEXT UP

The Clippers now have a few days off to prepare for a weekend back-to-back on Saturday against the Charlotte Hornets (17-18) and Sunday against the New Orleans Pelicans (11-23).

The Hornets will come to the Staples Center desperate for a victory, having lost their last five games. The Pelicans are struggling a bit as well, having dropped four of their last six. L.A. is already 2-0 against NOLA this season, and the Clips also beat the Hornets just a week ago in Charlotte.

Both games are scheduled for matinee tipoffs at 12:30 p.m. PT.