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SHENZHEN, China, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- Fueled by seven players' double-digit points and benchers' scoring advantage, the Charlotte Hornets handed the Los Angeles Clippers a 106-94 loss in their first match of 2015 NBA Global Games here on Sunday.
"Our second unit played very well," said Hornets' head coach Steve Clifford. "In the second half, we had better defense than theirs. The guys worked very hard to guard against the opponents," he added.
Substitutes Jeremy Lin and Cody Zeller shared team-high 16 points apiece. Kemba Walker added 13.
"We just tried to be as aggresive as we could. The consistent effort from our first and second unit, and we showed much unselfishness in both offense and defense. Moreover, we moved the ball a lot today," said Lin.
Wesley Johnson opened the Clippers' scoring account with a jumper, before both teams recorded an 11-0 run apiece early in the first period. Home fans' favourite Lin had a spectacular fast-break layup after coming from the bench.
This year marks the first time that the 12-year NBA Global China Games has featured in the southern city, which attracted more than 17,000 fans into Shenzhen Universiade Center.
Bad news for Clippers was that their All-Star point guard Chris Paul reportedly fractured his left forefinger in pregame practice. He was replaced by Pablo Prigioni in the starting line-up.
J.J. Redick got into hot momentum in this quarter, as he made 3 of 5 attempts on the three-pointer shooting line to score 16 points. However, the Hornets made a strong comeback after Brian Roberts provided much firepower from the bench, leading by 37-28 as the first quarter ran out.
Josh Smith had seven points in a row to give Clippers much help after the second quarter began, while being responded by Lin's six points. He extended the Hornets' lead to a double figure for the first time at 45-35.
DeAndre Jordan pleased the fans with an alley-oop slam dunk from Prigioni with 3:30 to go in the first half. Two teams tied the game at 55 with Redick's three-pointer, before the Hornets built a two-point lead into the halftime.
Jordan tip-offed the second-half's offense with another alley-oop slam dunk, while the advantage was still in Hornets' hand. Lin's three-pointer with 2.6 seconds remaining earned Hornets an 85-77 lead as the third quarter expired.
The Clippers was troubled by a scoring draught in the first six minutes with only three points, while their opponents extended the lead little by little. With five minutes remaining, Clippers brought down Griffin and Jordan to give more chances to benchers.
"CP3! CP3!" fans in the arena shouted to express their miss for the All-Star.
Redick finished with game-high 23 points, including 4 of 9 three-pointers. Teammates Smith and Griffin helped with 14 and 13 respectively, with the latter adding game-high 10 assists.
"Every time when I was on the floor, I wanted to play well. But it was not just about me, it should be the whole team played well," commented Redick.
Clippers and Hornets will have another encounter in Shanghai next Wednesday.
Clippers head coach Doc Rivers shrugged off a clear answer about whether Paul will play in the Shanghai stop, saying that the team was much careful about the point guard star's healthy condition.
