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Clippers overwhelm hapless Knicks

Mar 26, 2015 - 4:08 AM New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Austin Rivers put up 21 points and the Los Angeles Clippers had their way with the lowly New York Knicks as expected, rolling to an easy 111-80 win at Madison Square Garden.

Rivers hit his first nine shots before finally missing on his final attempt, while J.J. Redick also scored at will prior to taking a seat along with the rest of Los Angeles' regulars late in the third quarter with the Clippers owning an insurmountable lead.

Chris Paul racked up 16 assists and 11 points before his departure, with DeAndre Jordan posting 14 points and 10 rebounds in the Clippers' fifth consecutive triumph.

"Sometimes when you get leads like that you can just start trying stuff and messing with the game," Paul said. "We didn't do that."

Cleanthony Early's career-best 18 points provided the lone bright spot for the Knicks, whose NBA-worst record fell to 14-58 following the club's fifth straight setback. Lance Thomas finished with 14 points in defeat.

"We didn't execute the way we wanted to. We didn't defend the way we wanted to," Early said.

The Clippers put this mismatch away quickly, building a 28-17 lead after one quarter and overwhelming New York over the final six minutes of the first half to open up a commanding 63-33 advantage at halftime.

Los Angeles began the contest on a 16-4 run, highlighted by a pair of Matt Barnes triples on consecutive possessions, and never let the Knicks get closer than eight points the rest of the way.

Up 42-29 nearing the midway mark of the second quarter, the Clippers went on a 17-0 tear to completely break the game open. Redick netted eight of those points and Blake Griffin tallied seven during the stretch, in which the Knicks failed to score for more than four minutes.

New York lost further ground during a third quarter in which it received eight points on 3-of-3 shooting from Early, but the rest of the Knicks' roster combined to go 5-of-21 for the frame.

The Clippers' lead reached 40 points after Rivers followed a Paul trey with one of his own, staking Los Angeles to an 88-48 cushion with under three minutes to go in the third quarter. The Clippers took a 90-54 spread into the fourth.

Game Notes

Redick finished with 17 points ... Early returned to the Knicks' lineup after missing five straight games with a sprained ankle, but teammate Alexey Shved (ribs) sat out for a second consecutive game ... Paul assisted on nine of the Clippers' 12 first-quarter baskets ... The Clippers have now won six straight in the series, including a 99-78 rout at the Staples Center on New Year's Eve ... Griffin finished with 14 points.