Notebook: Clippers 78, Sixers 77

Andy Jasner, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Chris Paul's 17-footer with 3.2 seconds remaining gave the Los Angeles Clippers a huge 78-77 road win over the Philadelphia 76ers before a sellout crowd of 20,539 Friday at the Wells Fargo Center. Blake Griffin scored 16 points and swept 11 rebounds while Mo Williams added 14 points. The Clippers improved to 16-8 and 6-5 on the road.

Elton Brand scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while Andre Iguodala scored 12 points for the Sixers (18-9), who lost back-to-back games for the first time this season. Lou Williams also had 11 points.

QUOTABLE: "I looked at the clock and saw I had a chance. I missed a couple of those in the fourth quarter, but fortunately it went in."
-- Paul, on his game-winning shot.

THE STAT: The Sixers missed eight crucial free throws, going 15-for-23.

TURNING POINT: Griffin's hustle on Paul's winning shot saved the game. If Griffin doesn't dive on the floor and get possession of the ball, the Clippers might not have been celebrating at the end.

HOT: Paul was 10-for-20 and 4-for-4 from the free throw line.

NOT: Jrue Holiday missed six of his eight shots and had five turnovers for the Sixers.

QUOTABLE II: "Only seven turnovers was great. That's the kind of thing you have to do against a team like that. They're tough at home and they don't give up."
-- Griffin.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Iguodala continues to fill up the stat sheet with 12 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

INSIDE THE ARENA: The surging Sixers continue to draw quite well at the Wells Fargo Center. There was a boisterous sellout crowd of 20,539 buzzing throughout the game. Wali Jones, who played for the 1966-67 Sixers' title team, was in attendance and received a nice ovation.

QUOTABLE III: "At the end of the game, I'll put that on me. I've got to give our team more help at the end of games executing the play. That's not on the players. That's on me. I've got to be better. I'm the coach of this team. In that situation, I've got to get us a better shot. No excuses, other than I didn't do a good job in the last three seconds of that game."
-- Sixers coach Doug Collins, on a failed last possession in which Williams couldn't get a shot off in time.

GOOD MOVE: The Clippers smothered Williams on the last possession, not allowing the Sixers' super-sub to get a clean look.

BAD MOVE: The Sixers' offense stalled at times in the fourth quarter and the offense just wasn't as fluid as it needed to be.

ROOKIE WATCH: Clippers guard Travis Leslie and forward Trey Thompkins didn't play. Nikola Vucevic made his fifth start and had two points and four rebounds while Lavoy Allen scored five points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Sixers.

NOTABLE: Sixers center Spencer Hawes was out for the 12th time in the last 14 games with a strained left Achilles. ... Griffin received a technical foul with 5:39 remaining in the third quarter for arguing after a layup. ... Brand had his second straight double-double. ... Holiday committed five turnovers after having just six over the previous six games combined. ... The Clippers outrebounded Philadelphia 46-40. ... Griffin, on Reggie Evans, who had 10 rebounds: "He brings energy. He is a wild card out there. He got spread out a couple times, but his effort, his energy is contagious. Guys feed off him."

NEXT: For the Clippers, Saturday @ Charlotte, Monday @ Dallas, Wednesday vs. Washington. For the Sixers, Saturday @ Cleveland, Monday @ Charlotte, Wednesday @ Orlando.

• The Sixers have now lost three of their past five, including two straight after winning four in a row from 1/27-2/1. Philly has now lost consecutive games for the first time this season. The Sixers won 12 of their first 14 home games but have lost three of their past four. The Clippers rebound from a loss to Cleveland on 2/8 and haven’t lost consecutive games since 12/28 and 12/30. This is just the third time over the past nine meetings that L.A. has beaten the Sixers.
• Philly lost despite holding the Clippers to 78 points, their lowest point total of the season. The last time the Sixers held an opponent below 80 points in a loss was at Houston on 12/4/04. The Sixers had won 26 consecutive games when holding opponents below 80 points prior to tonight, including 7-0 this season. Philly held the opposition below 80 points six times in all of 2010-11.
• The Sixers outshot the Clippers 40.8% to 38.8%. It is Philly’s first loss at home when outshooting the opposition (11-1 mark; 15-3 overall). It is also the Sixers first loss when holding opponents below 40.0% shooting this season (8-1 mark; 10-1 in 2010-11).
• Philly had just 4 steals tonight, marking its second straight game with 4 steals. The Sixers recorded at least 6 steals in each of the first 25 games of the season. The Clippers had a season-low 7 turnovers after the Spurs recorded a season-low 7 turnovers against the Sixers on 2/8.
• The Sixers had 23 free throws tonight, their highest total since 1/14 vs. Washington but shot just 65.2% from the line. Philly is shooting 66.9% from the line over the past eight games and 71.5% overall this season after shooting 77.0% in 2010-11, its highest percentage since shooting 78.9% in 2004-05.
• Philly had five players score in double-figures tonight, but none with more than 12 points, which is a season-low for a team leader. Chris Paul had a game-high 24 points, marking the sixth straight game Philly has allowed at least one opposing player to score 20+ after holding the opposition without a 20-point scorer in four of the five games prior.
• Elton Brand had a team-high tying 12 points with a team-high 10 rebounds for his second straight double-double after missing the previous two games due to injury. He now has six double-doubles this season.
• Jrue Holiday had 5 turnovers tonight after committing just 6 the six games prior. He did record a game-high 8 assists and is averaging 7.0 apg over the past three games after averaging 4.3 apg the nine games prior.
• Spencer Hawes missed his second straight game and his 13th overall this season. The Sixers are 12-2 when he plays and 6-7 when he’s out of the lineup this season.