The Los Angeles Clippers visited the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday, fresh off an embarrassing 127-122 double-overtime loss to the Brooklyn Nets in which coach Doc Rivers got ejected and then called out the team for disrespecting the game and angering the basketball gods. That loss was the Clippers' third in a row, and the cold spell came out of nowhere -- they had won 14 of their first 16 games while playing the best basketball of the Chris Paul-Blake Griffin-DeAndre Jordan era.
With a 113-94 blowout victory over the Cavs, that little streak ended, and so did a much longer one: This is the first time Los Angeles has won in Cleveland since 2002. To illustrate how one-sided this was, here's Paul casually posing for a selfie with a fan while the game is going on:
Paul only needed to play 25 (superb) minutes to score 16 points, dish nine assists and grab six rebounds, with one steal and no turnovers. After a few disappointing performances and what now looks like a wakeup call in Brooklyn, he and the Clippers earned the opportunity to rest down the stretch by outscoring the Cavs 61-37 in the second and third quarters. With the job done, why not take a moment to make a fan's day?
