Chris Paul's 19 points and 10 assists was instrumental in the Los Angeles Clippers' 100-94 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats, a result that gave them their eighth consecutive win for the first time in 21 seasons.
"It's cool," the Associated Press quoted Paul as saying. "It just means we're playing all right now. But we're not satisfied.
"We have to keep playing the right way and keep this thing going. Sometimes you're going to win and play bad and sometimes you're going to play well and lose. For us it's all about being consistent."
Blake Griffin added 19 points from nine of 17 attempts from the floor, while Matt Barnes had 19 points and two steals for the Clippers.
The Bobcats did not allow the Clippers, who had grabbed first place in the Pacific Division, to win the game easily.
"It was kind of one of those grind-it-out games," Griffin admitted. "But those are the type of games you have to win if you're going to be a great team."
Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro was glad with the team's eight-win record, but was not happy with the way his side struggled against Charlotte.
"I think it's a good sign for us that we're finding ways to win," Del Negro said. "Everyone is contributing, locking really hard when we need to and making sure we're consistent on some things. We just got to get a little sharper.
"You know we missed a lot of easy shots tonight, a lot of layups, a lot of floaters, a lot of fast breaks -- things we usually convert. But we battled. We got stops at the end and that is what counts."
For Charlotte, Byron Mullens had 19 points, eight rebounds, making eight of 15 attempts from the field, while Kemba Walker scored 17 points and chipped in with six rebounds.
Gerald Henderson scored 12 points, while Ramon Sessions and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist added 11 points apiece.
The Clippers outscored the Bobcats 23-21 in the first quarter. In the second quarter, the winning team had 26 points to their opponents' 23 points. In the third quarter, Los Angeles scored 29 points, while the Bobcats added 27.
The Clippers were leading 78-71 at the start of the fourth quarter. The Bobcats outscored Los Angeles in the fourth quarter 23-22, but could not do enough to get force a victory.
Coach Mike Dunlap asserted the Bobcats would improve with experience.
"Offensively we had some turnovers and that's our Achilles," said Dunlap, in his first year with the Bobcats. "We've got to learn how to be down three or five (points) and execute in those situations."
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