LOS ANGELES_Each important point Lou Williams dropped in for the Los Angeles Clippers pushed the sixth-man extraordinaire toward an NBA milestone for a reserve, but more importantly, each time he scored increased his team's chances of winning a significant game against a top Western Conference foe.
Williams detonated for 40 points and Danilo Gallinari scored a season-high 34 to help the Clippers pull away for a 118-110 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night at Staples Center.
"He's a closer," coach Doc Rivers said of Williams. "And Gallo, both of those guys, they have the ability to make shots. Gallo, I thought, set the tone to start the game. He was so aggressive."
By winning their fourth straight game, Clippers (38-29) took sole possession of the seventh spot in the ever-revolving West, a half-game ahead of the San Antonio Spurs, and with a winning percentage of .567, they are right behind the sixth-seeded Utah Jazz (37-28), who have a .568 winning percentage.
And it was thanks to another stellar performance by Williams.
Williams, with 11,120 points, moved past Jamal Crawford (11,104) for the second-most career points off the bench in NBA history. Dell Curry (11,147) is No. 1 on that list.
It was the 28th time Williams has scored 30 or more points off the bench, moving him past Ricky Pierce for the most in history, according to the Clippers.
Williams and Gallinari are the top scorers for the Clippers, two players with an array of offensive skills, two players the Clippers count on every night.
And both delivered from the beginning _ Gallinari opening the game making his first four shots and finishing the first half with 22 points on seven-for-11 shooting.
Williams was almost as good, dropping in 21 points on eight-for-13 shooting. And while some misses from the line by the usually sharp-shooting Williams (10 for 15 free throws) and Gallinari (12 for 15) helped the Thunder retake the lead in the second half, the Clippers' dynamic duo came up big at the end.
After Russell Westbrook's three-point play gave the Thunder a 104-103 lead with 2:30 left, Williams and Gallinari scored the Clippers' last 15 points.
"We went to the two-man game down the stretch and it was big for us," Rivers said. "They were trapping Lou, but you can't trap Lou when Gallo is in the pick. So they couldn't trap anymore. They just played off each other really well."
Conversely, the two main weapons for the Thunder couldn't stay on the court long enough because of foul trouble.
Westbrook and Paul George picked up their fifth fouls in the third quarter, and George fouled out with 3:49 left on an offensive foul drawn by Patrick Beverley, who harassed the All-Star forward into shooting five for 16 in scoring 15 points in just 28 minutes.
Westbrook fouled out with 54.2 seconds left after Gallinari took a change on the All-Star guard with the Clippers leading 110-107. Westbrook left with 32 points in just 32 minutes.
The Clippers shot 46 free throws but made just 31 (67.4 percent).
