Lou Williams becomes NBA’s all-time bench scorer as Clippers crush Celtics

March 12, 2019 LawsonRealtyGroup Real Estate News 0


  • The Clippers’ Danilo Gallinari, right, dribbles past the Celtics’ Kyrie Irving during the first half of Monday’s game at Staples Center. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

  • Los Angeles Clippers’ Ivica Zubac, top right, of Croatia, is defended by Boston Celtics’ Kyrie Irving, left, and Marcus Morris during the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, March 11, 2019, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

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  • The Clippers’ Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, front, is fouled by the Celtics’ Gordon Hayward as he goes up for a basket during the first half of Monday’s game at Staples Center. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

  • Boston Celtics’ Kyrie Irving, left, grabs the ball against Los Angeles Clippers’ Patrick Beverley during the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, March 11, 2019, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

  • Boston Celtics’ Marcus Smart reacts after colliding with Los Angeles Clippers’ Montrezl Harrell during the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, March 11, 2019, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

  • Los Angeles Clippers’ Montrezl Harrell, center, is double-teamed by Boston Celtics’ Gordon Hayward, left, and Jaylen Brown during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, March 11, 2019, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

  • Los Angeles Clippers’ Landry Shamet, second from left, drives to the basket under pressure by Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown, left, Al Horford and Marcus Morris, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, March 11, 2019, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

  • Boston Celtics’ Marcus Smart, center, passes the ball under defense by Los Angeles Clippers’ Garrett Temple, left, and Tyrone Wallace during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, March 11, 2019, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

  • Boston Celtics’ Al Horford, left, gets a rebound against Los Angeles Clippers’ Patrick Beverley during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, March 11, 2019, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

  • Los Angeles Clippers’ Patrick Beverley, right, argues with Boston Celtics’ Marcus Morris during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, March 11, 2019, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

  • The Clippers’ Lou Williams, center, drives to the basket while under pressure from the Celtics’ Aron Baynes during the first half of Monday’s game at Staples Center. Williams set the NBA record for most career points off the bench with a layup during the fourth quarter. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

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LOS ANGELES — Eleven thousand, one hundred and fifty-four.

And counting.

Lou Williams scored a game-high 34 points and became the NBA’s career leader in points off the bench in the Clippers’ 140-115 victory over the Boston Celtics on Monday before a sellout Staples Center crowd of 19,068 – and many celebrated the accomplishment by audibly raining down “Louuuuuuus” on the wily, 6-foot-1 guard enjoying his 14th NBA season.

With 9:54 left in the game, Williams drove into the paint and flipped a layup over his shoulder to give him 28 points for the night and 11,148 for an illustrious career off the bench – passing Dell Curry’s career total of 11,147 in reserve.

“It’s amazing,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said before the game, anticipating the history that was brewing. “If you’re anything that ends in ‘ever’ in the NBA, it’s pretty impressive.”

Williams, 32, played just 23 minutes but still became the fourth player in 35 years to score 34 or more points off the bench in consecutive games. It is also Williams’ 29th career game with 30 or more points.

His effort – on 14-of-21 shooting from the floor and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line – lifted the Clippers (39-29) to a season-high scoring output and their fifth consecutive victory, equaling their longest winning streak of the season.

The victory also nudged the Clippers – who shot a season-high 60.9 percent from the field – into a tie for sixth place in the Western Conference standings with 14 games left.

Like Rivers, Celtics coach Brad Stevens found himself anticipating Williams’ potential output: After all, he’d watched Williams for the first time when he was in high school and recognized it then: The kid was a cold-blooded scorer.

“He can walk into the gym and score without warming up,” said Stevens, who has seen it. “Some guys need to get their rhythm established and everything else, but … I walked into an open gym when he was in high school and he was a little bit late and he said, ‘Check ball,’ and killed everybody. He didn’t take a (warm-up) shot, he didn’t do anything, he just killed everybody.

“That’s the way he’s been his whole NBA career. He just walks in and scores.”

Now he’s walked on and scored more than any other reserve.

In Friday’s win over Oklahoma City, Williams passed Jamal Crawford’s current 11,104 point total to move into second place on the list. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, data for reserve scoring dates to the 1970-71 season.

Williams’ points Monday included 17 in the first half and complemented an offensive onslaught in which all five Clippers starters scored in double figures for the fifth time this season: Danilo Gallinari had 25, Ivica Zubac 14, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 12, Landry Shamet 11 and Patrick Beverley 11. Also off the bench, Montrezl Harrell contributed 20.

Entering Monday’s game, the Celtics (41-27) had won three consecutive games on their four-game trip through California. Terry Rozier III led Boston with 26 points, while Jaylen Brown added 22 and Kyrie Irving had 18.

The Clippers led 62-49 at halftime. A Gordon Hayward 3-pointer with 5:04 left in the third quarter pulled Boston to within 81-72 but that was as close as the Celtics got. The Clippers led 101-85 going into the fourth quarter and steadily pulled away.

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