Five Stars: Clippers 100, Heat 93

First Star

Chris Paul (LAC) 14.5

Paul started out by going two-for-13 in the first half, but recovered to finish with a 22 point night. He made eight-of-23 shots in 34 minutes, earning a plus-6 rating and making all four of his foul shots and two-of-six three-pointers. Paul, an 11-year veteran, dished out seven assists with two rebounds and a steal to close out his statline.

I kept shooting it, because sooner or later it had to go in. - Paul

Second Star

Luol Deng (MIA) 13.8

Deng earned Miami's top honors in his 12th Five Stars appearance. In a game-high 39:51, he scored 15 points with eight rebounds and one assist. He went five-for-nine from the floor, making one-of-two from deep and four-of-five from the foul line. He posted a minus-4 rating on the night.

They did to us what we've been doing the last few games, just grinding an opponent. That's what they did to us, then made the bigger plays down the stretch. - Heat coach Erik Spoelstra

Third Star

Wesley Johnson (LAC) 12.0

Johnson came off the bench for 17:44, and scored 10 points with seven boards and five helpers on the night. A six-year veteran on his fourth NBA team, he shot a crisp four-for-five from the floor, including two-of-three from over the rainbow. He also pitched in two steals and closed the night with a plus-3 rating.

That was a team win because nobody really had it going, but our defense really had it going all game. - Clippers coach Doc Rivers

Fourth Star

Goran Dragic (MIA) 10.9

Dragic makes his 15th appearance on the Five Stars, and along with Deng and Hassan Whiteside were the only Heat players to shoot above 50% overall. He made seven-of-13 shots, including three-of-five from deep along with five rebounds, five assists, and a minus-8 rating with his team-high-tying 17 points (Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade also had 17). He totaled 34:44 on the floor, to rank second in the game behind Deng.

Fifth Star

DeAndre Jordan (LAC) 10.1

Jordan had a terrible night from the foul line, dropping his already low-enough free throw shooting percentage with a three-for-14 performance. In 34:36 altogether, the eight-year vet had his share of alley-oops, going three-for-four from the floor and adding 11 rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots, earning a plus-4 rating.

Bonus Material

Sixth Star

Hassan Whiteside (MIA) 9.9

Whiteside racked up a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds in 16:56. He earned a minus-4 rating and somehow failed to block any shots.

Seventh Star

JJ Redick (LAC) 9.5

In 32:11, Redick scored 14 points on five-of-11 shooting, making one-of-two from outside and all three of his foul tries. He also had a plus-6 rating, two steals, a rebound and an assist.

Eighth Star

Jamal Crawford (LAC) 9.4

Crawford had a game-high plus-7 rating, scoring 20 points in 34:16. He went seven-for-19 overall and two-of-seven from over the rainbow, also sinking four-of-five from the line with two assists and a single rebound.

Ninth Star

Lance Stephenson (LAC) 7.2

Stephenson, no stranger to giving Miami their share of headaches, scored nine points with an assist, a rebound, and a steal in 17:34, with a minus-4 rating.

10th Star

Cole Aldrich (LAC) 6.9

Aldrich played 13:18, making two-of-three shots but only one-of-five from the line. He also had a game-high-tying 11 rebounds, with two blocked shots and one assist. He also had the following minor tussle with Whiteside for the loose ball.

The Rest

Chris Bosh (MIA) 5.6

Dwyane Wade (MIA) 4.9

They made big plays down the stretch. That's the way we've been winning of late, so we can't be mad at that. We got a little taste of our own medicine. - Wade

Beno Udrih (MIA) 4.7

Gerald Green (MIA) 3.8

Paul Pierce (LAC) 3.7

Luc Mbah a Moute (LAC) 3.5

Pablo Prigioni (LAC) 3.3

Amar'e Stoudemire (MIA) 3.1

Justise WInslow (MIA) 0.7

Five Stars Standings

Player	TP	COUNT
Chris Bosh	213	33
Dwyane Wade	196	30
Hassan Whiteside	145	25
Goran Dragic	73	15
Luol Deng	54	12
Gerald Green	35	9
Tyler Johnson	32	7
Amar’e Stoudemire	10	1
Beno Udrih	9	2
Justise Winslow	9	2

Next up for Miami, the dangerous and almost unchanged from recent seasons San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs don't seem to be getting any slower, despite their average age of 46. Pounding The Rock has more on them. For Clippers news, check out Clips Nation. If you have a moment, go to Fan Essentials, here. Good Heat stuff (or other stuff, if you're interested) at a significant discount, shipped at the end of each month.