Even though All-Star point guard Chris Paul came back from a hand injury, the Los Angeles Clippers still suffered a 113-71 loss to the Charlotte Hornets in 2015 NBA Global Games in Shanghai on Wednesday.
The Hornets ended the China tour in triumph, after they won the first game 106-94 last Sunday.
Paul missed the game in Shenzhen due to left forefinger fracture. He finished with a team-high 17 points and six assists in Wednesday's game. Teammate Blake Griffin added 14 points and 14 rebounds as the only other Clippers player to score double-digit points.
"From a coaching standpoint, that was very disappointing, but from a team building standpoint, I can see what we want to do here in China," said Clippers' head coach Doc Rivers.
Instead of coming from the bench in Shenzhen, Jeremy Lin started for the Hornets. He showed much aggressiveness in the offense, as he made all of his team's opening four attacks, adding another two free throws to score 10 points in a row.
Griffin shone in the Clippers' offensive end with a fastbreak layup and a spectacular slam dunk. Paul added two baskets to help his team build a slim one-point lead.
However, the Hornets still got the upper hand. With 41.7 seconds to go, they had a double-figure lead with Spencer Hawes' three-pointer, and led by 29-21 as the first quarter ran out.
Paul and Griffin steered the Clippers' 10-2 run late in the second quarter to cut the deficit to four points, while being responded by Nicolas Batum's jumper. The Hornets' lead was narrowed to five points as both sides went back to the locker room.
Led by Lin's three-pointer early in the second half, the Hornets dominated the third quarter 29-8. The Clippers only made one field goal in the first six minutes. Frustrated, the Clippers players had some hard fouls on their opponents. After being called a flagrant foul, center DeAndre Jordan gave the Hornets' Kemba Walker three free-throws with fouls beyond the arc.
The Hornets built a comfortable 26-point advantage, giving the starting five more rest time on the bench, while their benchers still managed to extend the lead little by little. With 40-plus-point margin in hand with two minutes remaining, the Hornets sealed their second straight win against the Clippers in China.
Al Jefferson had 17 points for the Hornets. Batum and Lin helped with 14 and 13 respectively.
"It was a good win to finish the trip. We enjoyed ourselves during the past six days here. I think the goal that we had was to get better, and at the end of the trip, we did that," said Steve Clifford, Hornets' head coach.
