LOS ANGELES — Chris Paul had 15 points and seven assists in the Los Angeles Clippers’ 93-80 victory over the plummeting New York Knicks on Wednesday night before leaving with a strained right hamstring.
The Clippers comfortably finished their eighth win in 10 games despite losing their superstar point guard late in the third quarter when Paul hobbled to the locker room favoring his right leg. Paul said he could have returned but was grateful to watch his teammates’ strong defensive finish.
“It’s definitely a sign that things are going in the right direction,” said Paul, who seems certain he’ll play Friday in Sacramento. “We’re solid. We’re starting to know where each other are going to be on both ends of the court. We have to do it consistently, especially on the defensive end, but we’re getting there.”
While Paul rode a stationary bike in the dressing room, Darren Collison and Jamal Crawford capably handled playmaking duties while the Clippers finished off their third straight win. The offense-challenged Knicks couldn’t score for a 3:40 stretch late, losing handily despite holding the Clippers to three points in the final 4:49.
Kenyon Martin hit a jumper with 4:30 to play, and the Knicks were still in it. New York then missed its next six shots and scored only two points the rest of the night.
Blake Griffin had 15 points and 13 rebounds, and J.J. Redick scored 15 points.
The Clippers’ defense and the Knicks’ general ineptitude both played a role in the unsurprising finish to a meeting of two teams headed in opposite directions.
“We’re not going to win too many games on the offensive end, even as well as we’re playing,” said Collison, who had nine points. “Defense is where it’s at, and we did a good job tonight.”
Carmelo Anthony scored 27 points, and Andrea Bargnani had 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks, who have lost seven straight to drop to 3-11. New York kept its locker room closed long after the final buzzer for an informal team meeting.
“We are in a dark place, and we’ve got to get out of it,” Anthony said. “We have to pinpoint what the problems are and go from there. … We’ve got to play four quarters together, and we’ve got to do it for one another. Right now the game is not fun for nobody. We’re just not making it happen. But we’re going to keep trying.”
New York hung with the powerful Clippers for most of the night, but its shortcomings were exposed late. The Knicks missed 17 of their 20 3-point shots, and the Clippers shot 31 free throws to their 15.
Raymond Felton had 12 points and seven assists in his return to the Knicks’ starting lineup after a four-game absence with an injured lower back and left hip, but New York still hasn’t won since Nov. 13 in Atlanta.
