Joe Johnson added 19 points for the Nets, who limited the Clippers to 29 points in the second half and got back on track after losing the final two games of a six-game trip.

Griffin and Paul each had 14 points for the Clippers, who have dropped two in a row following a six-game winning streak. DeAndre Jordan had 12 points and 13 rebounds, and Jamal Crawford finished with 13 points.

Williams had 11 points and eight assists, continuing a shooting slump by going 3 of 10. But the Nets didn't need much with such a strong defensive effort.

They particularly got to Paul, who has trying to bounce back after going 2 of 14 and finishing with nine points and nine assists in a 117-111 loss at Oklahoma City, the first time he had been held to single digits in each statistic in the same game since last April 12.

"You've got to be able to do it on the road. Good teams can. Good teams execute on the road down the stretch," Paul said. "Everybody knows what their role is and we got to do better. That starts with me."

The Nets got a boost from Reggie Evans, who came off the bench to finish with six points and 12 rebounds in 22 minutes against his former team, saying the ease with which the Clippers scored early gave him motivation.

"I know when they get frustrated, I know when players may want the ball and they're not getting it and stuff like that, so it's kind of good I played with them, kind of used that to my advantage," Evans said.

Each team scored just 38 points in the middle two quarters, but the Nets finally got some offense in the fourth.

Keith Bogans made a 3-pointer to snap a 63-all tie entering the period, and the Nets had the lead until the Clippers scored five straight points to tie it at 74 on Crawford's layup with 4:15 to play.

Gerald Wallace made one free throw with 3:58 remaining, then Lopez had consecutive baskets to make it 79-74 with 3:03 to go. The Clippers turned it over and the ball came to Johnson in the corner after a scramble for an offensive rebound, his 3-pointer making it 82-74. Williams followed with a pair of free throws as the lead hit double digits.

"The turnovers really hurt us tonight. We have to do a better job of controlling that. We had 20 turnovers tonight. Every time we got a stop, we turned it over on the break or stepping out of bounds or just not executing the way we need to," Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said.

"We didn't shoot the basketball. We missed a lot of easy shots, but it was really more we'd get a stop or two and then we could never get any rhythm. We didn't do a good job moving the basketball. I thought the game in the second half kind of slowed down to their pace."

Caron Butler had seven points on 3-of-9 shooting in his return to the Clippers' lineup after missing a game with a right shoulder strain.

The Nets made 11 of 17 shots in the first quarter, but missed their last attempt on the highlight of the period. Williams rose for a dunk attempt but Griffin was way higher for a powerful denial with 17 seconds left, sending Williams tumbling back to the floor and keeping it tied at 25 heading to the second.

It stayed close throughout the second before the Clippers scored the final eight points, starting with a pair of baskets by Griffin, to take a 47-40 lead into the break.

Game notes
On Black Friday, the Nets wore their road black uniforms. ... Fans at the game included Nets part-owner Jay-Z and wife Beyonce, her former Destiny's Child member Kelly Rowland, Billy Crystal and Ray Romano. ... There was a fairly loud chant of "Overrated! Overrated!" when Griffin went to the line for a pair of free throws in the third quarter. He missed both shots.