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Paul carries Clippers past Rose-less Bulls

Nov 25, 2013 - 12:07 AM Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Chris Paul tallied 16 points and 17 assists to charge the Los Angeles Clippers to a 121-82 win over the Chicago Bulls.

Jared Dudley and J.J. Redick scored 21 and 19 points, respectively, for the Clippers, who have won three of their last four games. Blake Griffin added 15 points and 12 rebounds

"I had great looks today our pace was pretty consistent," said Dudley. "A lot of games are won in the locker room, its all about chemistry."

Luol Deng scored a game-high 22 points for Chicago, which has lost three in a row. Carlos Boozer and Mike Dunleavy added 14 points apiece.

The Bulls pulled their first game without point guard Derrick Rose, who tore his right meniscus in Friday's loss at Portland. He will undergo surgery on Monday and is out indefinitely.

The first quarter saw plenty of offense but one only lead change, which came 1:19 into the period.

After the first basket by the Bulls, the Clippers took control at a steady pace. The closest Chicago would come within Los Angeles was three points, the last when the Clippers owned a 27-24 edge with two minutes left in the frame.

Every time the Bulls came within three, the Clippers either answered with a 2- pointer to match or a triple to expand the lead.

"Give them credit, the Clippers are a great team offensively. Offensively in the first half we were fine," said Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau "When you don't bring a defensive mindset you're in for long night. Nobody feels sorry for us we have enough to get it done, we're all capable of playing better."

The largest Clippers' lead in the first was with 3:03 left. Deng missed a 3- point shot and Griffin followed up with a pair of jumpers to put his team up by a 27-17 score.

After baskets by Paul and Darren Collison, the Clippers led 31-24 at the end of the first.

The Bulls began the second quarter with possession and scored to come within five points, which would be the closest they would cut the deficit prior to the half.

Los Angeles finally began to pull away when a Dudley 3-pointer made the score 53-43 with 3:26 left in the half. The Clippers wouldn't relinquish a lead of double digits thereafter.

After a Redick free throw with 2:37 left in the half, the Clippers reached their largest lead at 58-44. The half closed out with Los Angeles ahead by a 65-52 count.

"Our defense was pretty good today, we ran when we got out in transition today, executed and moved the ball pretty well," said Paul. "This was our fourth game in five days and we did what we were supposed to do."

The Clippers' dominance continued into the second half as they refused to let up. Paul hit a 2-point jumper with 4:35 left in the third quarter to make the score 87-67, and the Bulls couldn't come within 20 points after that.

Los Angeles cruised to victory even while resting their starters in the fourth quarter, with Antwan Jamison scoring 11 points off the bench in his first action of the season. Collison scored 14 points and had five assists in the victory.

Game Notes

The Clippers shot 58.5 percent from the field while the Bulls shot 39.5 percent ... The Clippers went 12-of-14 from the foul line while the Bulls finished 14-of-23 ... Los Angeles has won seven of eight at home ... Paul recorded a double-double for the 14th time this season, while Griffin earned his 12th ... Without Rose, the Bulls lost both of its two matchups to Los Angeles last season. They won both meetings with him in the lineup in 2011-12.