Clippers Roll To 15th Straight Victory With Win Over Celtics
The Los Angeles Clippers have now won 15 straight games after dismantling the Boston Celtics on Thursday night.
The Clippers were led by Matt Barnes, who came off the bench for a season-high 21 points. The Clippers are now the first team to win 15 straight games since the Celtics did it four years ago, hitting a 19-game winning streak in 2008-09. With the win the Clippers also improved their NBA-best record to 23-6.
As the Clippers extended their winning streak, the Celtics have slid into a semi-slump. The loss was the team’s fifth in seven games, dropping them to 14-14.
It was the Clippers tight defense that led to Thursday’s victory as they held the Celtics to 10 points over the final 12 minutes of the game.
The game was not without its heated moments. From ESPN:
“The game got chippy at times. In the third, Jared Sullinger was called for a flagrant-1 foul for grabbing the front of Griffin on his way up to dunk. Then Butler and Pierce emerged from a big mass both holding on to the ball, leading to a jump ball. In the first, Rondo was lying on the ball and Paul tried to take it out from under him on the sideline, leading to a testy moment.”
Even if the Clippers were to lose their final two games of December, they would still be assured of a historic month. The Associated Press calculated that the team has already passed its franchise record for wins in a month, beating the mark shared by the 1974-75 Buffalo Braves and the 1991-91 Clippers.
