Five takeaways from the Clippers’ 127-95 win over the Nets

The Clippers improved their NBA-best record to 10-1 by torching the short-handed Nets, 127-95, at Staples Center on Monday night. The Clippers ran away from the Nets (4-6) from the opening tip, and below are five takeaways from the action.

1. Hot potato

Five different Clippers finished with four or more assists, which was a product of their unrelenting ball movement.

Starting point guard Chris Paul finished with a game-high nine assists to go with 21 points, but the ball-sharing did not stop with the Clippers’ first unit. Austin Rivers collected six assists and Jamal Crawford finished with five. At times, the second team was passing up open shots for wide-open ones and moving the ball with dizzying speed.

The Clippers, as a team, finished with a season-high 32 assists. It is the fifth time in five games they finished with more than 20.

“It’s becoming contagious, it really is,� Clippers Coach Doc Rivers said of his team’s ball movement.

The Nets, on the other hand, had just 18 assists. They also finished with 21 turnovers, and none of their starters logged more than two assists. The Clippers finished with 11 turnovers, one fewer than their season average.

2. Forgetting about it

There was a short spurt in the second quarter, with the Clippers’ starters on the bench, that the Nets poured the ball through the rim.

The Clippers were without second-team small forward Wesley Johnson, who is working back from a heel injury, for the second straight game. Rivers plugged Brandon Bass into his bench lineup — which has been great on defense so far this season — and the group had trouble stopping forward Bojan Bogdanovic as the Nets mounted a 15-5 second-quarter run.

Austin Rivers was tasked with Bogdanovic during that stretch, and he scored most of his team-high 18 points during it. The bench unit’s defensive lapses forced Doc Rivers to stagger a few starters back into the game, and order was restored when he did.

“Our second team scored the first five possessions, I think,� Doc Rivers said. “And I think, from a coach’s perspective I know this sounds crazy, but I actually turned and said, ‘They’re gonna stop playing D. They’re going to start thinking about offense.’ And that’s exactly what happened.�

3. Felton for three

Raymond Felton usually has two main duties in a given night: setting up the offense as the second-team point guard and putting unrelenting pressure on the ball on defense.

But the veteran point guard added another layer to his contributions on Monday. He made three of four three-point attempts — both season-highs — to add to the spacing that Crawford and Marreese Speights already provides for the second team. He also finished with a season-high 11 points.

“Catching and shooting is something I worked on a lot because I knew it would be something I’d get [with this team],� Felton said.

4. Diamond in the rough

When rookie Diamond Stone checked into the game in the fourth quarter, Blake Griffin told him he had to get five rebounds, a blocked shot and a deflection.

Stone, who has played sparingly this season, blocked a shot and fell three rebounds short of Griffin’s test. But Stone did score his first NBA points on a jump hook in the paint. The 19-year-old finished with six points, also facing up to hit an 18-foot jumper, in a season-high eight minutes of action.

“I think we’re all happy when he gets in the game and finally gets that first bucket,� Griffin said. “I think we all remember our first bucket, so hopefully it was a fun experience for him.�

5. Stealing some rest

The Nets will play the Lakers in the Staples Center on Tuesday night, which is likely why Coach Kenny Atkinson chose to sit Brook Lopez, his starting center and the team’s leading scorer.

The Clippers’ starters also came across some rest, which came as the result of burying the Nets early. Doc Rivers took out his starters with the Clippers leading 93-59 toward the end of the third. They did not play for the final 14 minutes and 57 seconds of game time.

“It’s going to help guys like Chris Paul back there,� Rivers said. “His legs will be strong at the end of the year because he has people to support him. And that’s important for us.�

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