Redick, Pierce Lead Clippers, 109-104, In Utah

Chris Paul scored 19 points and DeAndre Jordan added 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Clippers (18-13), who won their second straight game after losing three in a row. Last season, Los Angeles won nine of 15 games without Griffin in the lineup, as he missed more than a month with a staph infection. They ended a three-game slide and seemed to be in position to get Griffin and other starters some rest for this contest with a 28-point lead after three quarters.

“More than Blake Griffin being out, for us it’s [being concerned with] Fav being out”, Jazz coach Quin Snyder said.

Rockets: Howard had 11 points and 12 rebounds for his third double-double in the past five games. The next possession, Redick stole a pass. After Luc Mbah a Moute followed with two made free-throws, all the momentum and the lead were back with the Clippers.

Bryant is going into his Christmas match-up with the Clippers shooting a career low 34 percent, 10 points under his career average. Durant teammate Russell Westbrook (267,699) is second behind Curry in the Western Conference guards list, while Miami Heat’s Dwayne Wade (300,595) heads the Eastern Conference guards list.

Rivers said he didn’t want one player to try to make up for the production of Griffin, his team’s leading scorer and best all-around player, with averages of 23.2 points, 8.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists. I just think you’re not going to replace Blake and no one is, so everyone just has to pitch in.

“I’m just very, very thankful to be able to play this many games on Christmas”, he added.

Nothing has been easy for the Clippers this season, as they have grinded their way through wins and struggled to close games against the NBA’s elite.

The Clippers would build on the foundation set in the first quarter and stretch their lead to 16 points at halftime.

Griffin made 6 of 17 shots for 13 points, 12 boards and seven assists. It is the first game Favors has missed because of an injury this season…. The long-range shots came in a cluster again in the fourth quarter, with Redick hitting back-to-back 3-pointers in a 33 second span to allow the Clippers to pull away in the final minutes.

Against the Clippers, Bryant did not play as much as usual, just 26 minutes, because his team was down by a wide margin. Early on, a fluke play indicated it would be an uphill battle for them.

Clippers: Visit the Washington Wizards on Monday. “He’s been good the last 10 games or so”.

Playing up to the level of their competition is something the Clippers have yet to do this season.