Paul Leads Clippers Past 76ers

Chris Paul scored with 3.2 seconds left to push the Clippers to a 78-77 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers Friday night at Wells Fargo Center.
Paul finished with 24 points on 10-for-20 shooting.
Then it was Paul and Kenyon Martin that smothered Lou Williams on his last shot attempt that didn’t get anywhere the basket, securing the victory for the Clippers.
Paul and Martin threw their hands in the air after that last play.
The Clippers got a big defensive stop when they forced the 76ers into a five-second violation with 2:15 left, holding a 74-73 lead.
But the 76ers also played tough defense, stopping the Clippers from scoring.
Williams got fouled, but made just one of two free throws to tie the score at 74-74 with 1:41 left.
After Paul missed, Martin got the offensive rebound.
That led to a basket by Caron Butler for a 76-74 Clippers lead, forcing the 76ers into calling a timeout with 56.7 seconds left.
Then Jrue Holiday, the former UCLA star, made just one of two free throws with 20.4 seconds left, leaving the Clippers clinging to a 76-75 lead after Blake Griffin got the defensive rebound and L.A. called a time out.
But Ryan Gomes threw a bad inbound pass to Butler, who chased the ball down but was called for a foul on Williams with 18 seconds left.
Williams made both free throws for a 77-76 76ers lead with 18 seconds left.

-- Broderick Turner, reporting from Philadelphia