Dallas, TX – Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Blake Griffin poured in 37 points to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 112-105 win over the Phoenix Suns on Monday.
Chris Paul had a double-double with 17 points and 11 assists, while DeAndre Jordan scored eight points and ripped 17 rebounds for the Clippers.
Darren Collison contributed 20 points in the win, Los Angeles's eighth straight victory.
Goran Dragic paced Phoenix with 23 points, while P.J. Tucker registered 14 points with 10 rebounds before being ejected midway through the fourth after getting into an altercation with Griffin.
The Suns have lost two straight and fell to ninth place in the Western Conference playoff race behind idle Memphis.
The Clippers brought a 62-45 lead into the locker room at the half and Paul's jumper with just over seven minutes left stretched the lead to a game-high 25.
Phoenix followed with a 20-6 run to cut the deficit to 85-74 with under a minute remaining in the stanza.
Matt Barnes, who finished with 13 points, nailed a 3 to close the scoring in the period and stake the hosts to a 90-76 lead heading into the fourth.
Los Angeles opened the fourth on an 11-4 run to push the lead back to a healthy 101-80 margin, but the Clippers couldn't deliver the knockout blow.
In the midst of the run, Tucker and Griffin got tangled up going for a rebound. Tucker appeared to elbow Griffin while on the ground and following a video review, Tucker was ejected for the action.
Marcus Morris' jumper with 6:54 remaining sparked a 19-4 burst that pulled the Suns within six, 105-99, after a Dragic layup.
Dragic would convert another layup with 32.5 seconds left in the fourth to trim the deficit to 109-105, but Barnes responded with two free throws to secure the win.
Game Notes
Danny Granger scored 14 points off the bench for LA ... Markieff Morris and Gerald Green each tallied 16 points in the setback ... LA shot 43-of-78 (55.1 percent) from the field ... Griffin was 9-for-10 from the charity stripe ... The Suns scored 28 points off of 22 LA turnovers ... The Clippers outrebounded Phoenix, 42-36.
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