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Griffin, Bledsoe lead Clippers past Wizards

Mar 13, 2011 - 7:02 AM Washington, DC (Sports Network) - Blake Griffin scored all 26 of his points in the first half as the Los Angeles Clippers built -- and kept -- a big lead on the way to an easy 122-101 victory over Washington.

One night after blowing a 20-point lead and losing to the Nets in overtime, the Clippers went up 19 in the first quarter and held on, bouncing back for their fifth win in six games.

"Teams are going to make runs, but I thought we responded better tonight with some better execution and we shot the ball better, which put pressure on them," said Clippers head coach Vinny del Negro.

Griffin was scoreless in the third quarter, then sat the entire fourth. He had five rebounds and remains one double-double shy Elton Brand's single-season Clippers record of 55.

LA didn't need anything else from him.

Fellow rookie Eric Bledsoe collected 23 points in more than 21 minutes off the bench and Mo Williams had 22 points in the win, which moved the Clippers to 3-1 on five-game road trip that ends Monday in Memphis.

Wizards rookie John Wall scored 25, but his team fell to 1-10 in their last 11 games. Another rookie, Jordan Crawford, had 16 points off the bench and Nick Young scored 15.

"We're not as good as [the Clippers] right now," said Washington head coach Flip Saunders.

LA controlled the game from the first quarter on -- although it didn't get out of hand until the coaches emptied their benches in the fourth.

Griffin had 16 of his 26 points in the first quarter, shooting 4-of-7 from the floor and 8-of-9 from the foul line. He scored 10 points during a 16-1 run the Clippers used to take the lead for good.

His three-point play with 4:11 remaining in the quarter capped the surge and made it 25-11. LA went ahead by as many as 19 points at when Chris Kaman completed a three-point play, making it 32-13.

Washington trimmed the deficit to 11 and entered the second quarter down 38-27, but the Clippers quickly pushed their lead to 18 before heading into the locker room with a 64-55 advantage.

For the second night in a row, the Clippers let their opponent chip away in the third quarter. But unlike Friday against the Nets, they never broke.

The Wizards got as close as three points on a pair of Wall free throws, but LA used a 12-0 run spanning the third and fourth quarters to take a 24-point lead with 10:39 remaining.

The Clippers led by as many as 27 down the stretch.

Game Notes

The Clippers have won four straight against Washington...LA shot 52 percent from the floor compared to 42 percent for the Wizards...Brand had 55 consecutive double-doubles in 2001-02. Bob McAdoo holds the franchise record with 69 double-doubles set in 1974-75, when the team was known as the Buffalo Braves.