LOS ANGELES – Private jets awaited to whisk them away to destinations largely unknown.
Doc Rivers had seen this play out different ways before. In the final game before the All-Star break, minds can wander toward the white sandy beaches of Mexico. A week of ease can kick in early.
Earlier in his career, Rivers used various tactics to ensure his teams stayed engaged before scattering.
“I did all kinds of stuff,” he said. “Now I don’t mention it much. I just keep trying to get their focus on the game.”
Whatever he did Wednesday worked.
The Clippers started hot from the field and cruised to a 99-84 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. They head into the weeklong break on a four-game winning streak and, at 35-21, a half-game behind the Utah Jazz for the fourth seed in the Western Conference.
In his final game before his first All-Star appearance, center DeAndre Jordan had a game-high 16 rebounds and bolstered his credentials for his appearance in Saturday’s dunk contest. On the final play of the first half, he cleaned up an airball from Blake Griffin and finished emphatically with two hands.
Griffin posted team-highs in points (17) and assists (nine) while four other Clippers scored in double figures.
Dennis Schroder led the Hawks with 15 points and seven rebounds while Dwight Howard added 11 points and 15 rebounds. The Hawks, however, committed a grisly 23 turnovers leading to 22 Clippers points.
The Clippers had plenty to do with that, recording a season-high 18 steals.
This on the heels of what Rivers had called the Clippers’ “best defensive game of the season” two nights earlier in Utah.
“I would love to go into the break knowing we played another great defensive game,” he mused before the game.
The Clippers made eight of their first 13 3-point attempts and had assists on 11 of their first 14 baskets. They slowed their pace, finishing 14-of-37 from the arc, but the damage was already done.
With the performance, the Clippers avoided every coach’s worst nightmare in the final game before the All-Star weekend.
“Every coach in that game is concerned about the exact same thing,” Rivers said. “And it’s human nature. You’ll see the team that is the most prepared every night, the team that is most prepared … I say it every night to our guys, and the team that plays the hardest for the longest usually wins the game.”
More to come on this story.
Contact the writer: boram@scng.com
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