Five takeaways from the Clippers’ 117-107 victory over Sacramento

The Clippers defeated the Kings, 117-107, on Friday night in Sacramento.

Here are five takeaways from the victory.

1. Jeff Green displayed why the Clippers acquired him in the final minutes before the trade deadline expired on Feb. 18.

Green, in just his fourth game in a Clippers uniform, had 22 points, five rebounds and a blocked shot during the win.

He had started in place of forward Paul Pierce, who wasn’t at the game because of a family situation.

Green missed four of his 13 shots and just of his five three-pointers.

When the Clippers outscored the Kings, 34-16, in the third quarter, Green had nine of those points, making all three of his three-pointers in the quarter.

“It’s still going to take time,” Green said about his adjustment period. “It’s not like I’m fully comfortable. It’s my fourth game. There haven’t been that many practices due to scheduling. But they are telling me to go out and just play my game.”

2. Seemingly like he always does, Jamal Crawford supplied the Clippers with a big lift off the bench.

Crawford had 21 points against the Kings, doing the bulk of his damage in the second and fourth quarters.

He made three of four shots in the second, keeping the Clippers close at the half with his eight points. He had nine points in the fourth, keeping the Kings at bay.

3. The Clippers basically played no defense in the first half, giving up 67 points and seemingly letting the Kings do whatever they wanted.

But that all changed in the third quarter when the Clippers played defense like it meant something to them.

They limited the Kings to 28.6% shooting in the third, outscoring Sacramento by 18 points in the quarter.

At one point, the Clippers went on a 20-0 run in the third.

Chris Paul said he got his body into Darren Collison to make it harder for the Kings’ point guard to run the offense with ease.

DeAndre Jordan did his part by holding DeMarcus Cousins to one-for-five shooting in the third. Cousins finished with 26 points on seven-for-20 shooting.

4. J.J. Redick was solid again for the Clippers. He had 16 points on seven-for-15 shooting.

He was in constant motion, just like he is every game.

5. It was not a good offensive night for Wesley Johnson off the bench.

He missed six of his eight shots and both of his three-pointers, finishing with just four points.

But Johnson did have five rebounds, one blocked shot and one steal. He also finished with a plus-five in the plus-minus category.

Twitter:@BA_Turner