Thunder vs. Clippers: Score, Highlights, Reaction from 2017 Regular Season

The Los Angeles Clippers handled the Oklahoma City Thunder with relative ease on Monday, 120-98, but lost their star point guard in the process.

The Clippers announced at halftime Chris Paul was out for the remainder of the game with a sprained left thumb after he scored eight points and dished out six assists. Dan Woike of the Orange County Register noted X-rays were negative.

Fortunately for Los Angeles, a balanced offensive effort was more than enough to dispatch the Thunder in Monday's Western Conference showdown at Staples Center. Six Clippers scored in double figures as the team won its seventh game in a row and improved to 29-14.

ESPN Stats & Info put the start into historical perspective:

Oklahoma City dropped to 25-18 with the loss and was playing without Steven Adams, who was diagnosed with a concussion, per Royce Young of ESPN.com.

Marreese Speights poured in a team-high 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and DeAndre Jordan also notched a double-double with 19 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks. J.J. Redick connected on five threes and scored 20 points, while Austin Rivers (16 points and six assists) and Raymond Felton (15 points and six assists) admirably handled much of the ball-handling duties after Paul left the game.

Russell Westbrook put up 24 points, five rebounds and four assists on the other side, but his totals were far below his gaudy season averages (30.9 points, 10.7 rebounds and 10.5 assists a night coming into Monday's game). 

Joffrey Lauvergne (13 points) and Enes Kanter (12 points) were the only other Thunder players to score more than 10, and the team shot 42.4 percent from the field and 10-of-30 (33.3 percent) from three-point range with 15 turnovers.

The Clippers wasted little time building momentum and extended their first-quarter lead to double digits with an Alan Anderson layup. Los Angeles didn't trail in the opening quarter outside of a 2-0 deficit largely because of its defense on Westbrook.

The dynamic point guard shot just 3-of-9 in the first and didn't have an assist, while Paul countered with eight points and three assists. He also had the Thunder defenders looking helpless at times, as NBA on TNT captured:

Oklahoma City cut the deficit to 34-25 entering the second and climbed within 40-36 with an Anthony Morrow three. However, Los Angeles continued to keep the visitors at bay and pushed the lead back to double digits with a Speights putback.

The Clippers continued pouring it on, and a Redick four-point play made it 62-42 with less than three minutes until halftime. Oklahoma City closed the second quarter with a 5-0 run but still found itself behind 64-47 by intermission.

However, it wasn't all good news for the home team, as Paul went to the locker room with his injury right before the end of the half.

Even without Paul, Los Angeles quickly built a 20-point lead in the third with a Redick three and assist to Rivers. Redick largely assumed playmaking duties with Paul and Blake Griffin (still out after knee surgery) sidelined, and the Thunder didn't have an answer. The lead swelled to 84-57 with another Redick three.

Jordan was also enforcing his will down low on both ends of the court, and the Clippers put things in cruise control for the majority of the quarter.

Still, Oklahoma City didn't quite go away and closed the third with an 18-12 run that included a Westbrook steal and two-hand dunk in the open floor. It trimmed the deficit to 21 at 96-75 and gave the Thunder a semblance of hope heading into the last 12 minutes.

That hope quickly faded when Brandon Bass dunked and Speights drilled a three to make it 101-75.

The Thunder needed a flurry of threes to come back, and ESPN Stats & Info noted that wasn't happening when Westbrook tried to set up his teammates:

Domantas Sabonis hit one from deep to trim the lead to 111-91, but seven straight Clippers points—three of which came on another Speights shot from deep—made it 118-91 and ended any late comeback chances.

Oklahoma City never truly threatened in the fourth, and the Clippers clinched the victory even with their floor general ailing.

Postgame Reaction

The NBA shared Speights' postgame comments:

Paul was visibly upset after his injury, and Clippers coach Doc Rivers said, "I guarantee you he was thinking the worst at the time," per Michael J. Duarte of NBC Los Angeles.

Rivers said Paul will have an MRI Tuesday, per Woike.

Westbrook was asked about the Thunder's inability to keep the Clippers from getting into the paint and said, "Just wasn't ready to play," per Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman.

Thunder head coach Billy Donovan reflected on the loss, per Dawson: "I think there's a standard we want to play to, and I didn't think that we played to that standard that we want to play to."

What's Next?

The Thunder continue their six-game road trip on Wednesday against the Golden State Warriors before contests against the Utah Jazz and New Orleans Pelicans. While the showdown with Kevin Durant and the Warriors will draw headlines, Oklahoma City is looking to establish itself as a legitimate West contender and needs to take care of business in other conference games as well.

Next up for the Clippers is a home game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday before a five-game road trip. Three of Los Angeles' next four games come against teams under .500, so it has an opportunity to build some momentum in that Western Conference race even with Paul sidelined.