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 "I thought we came out soft," Lakers coach Byron Scott said
Wednesday after his team lost 114-89 to the Clippers on Wednesday at
Staples Center. "I am pretty surprised, surprised and disappointed.
I would not say it is the most disappointing, but it is very
disappointing."
Forward Blake Griffin scored 27 points, grabbed nine rebounds and
handed out eight assists to lead the Clippers (24-12). Point guard
Chris Paul added 24 points and 11 assists.
Forward Matt Barnes, who was slowed by an undisclosed illness and
was a game-time decision, according to coach Doc Rivers, had 19
points. Center DeAndre Jordan finished with 10 points, 13 rebounds
and three blocks as the Clippers beat the Lakers for the fifth
consecutive time and captured their fifth win in six outings
overall.
None of the Clippers' starters played in the fourth quarter.
Sharing the rock early played huge dividends, Rivers said.
 "The ball movement was fantastic," Rivers said. "The opponent does
not matter, you need to make shots. Tonight, we had great spacing
and ball movement. We need that every night, but it was beautiful to
watch."
Griffin agreed that spacing played a big role.
"It was just our mindset coming into the game," said Griffin, who
connected on nine of 13 shots from the floor and nine of 13 free
throws. "Obviously, you have to execute, but (spacing the floor) was
kind of what we talked about at shootaround and pregame among the
players. I thought we came out and did everything we wanted to do."
Guard Jordan Clarkson scored 14 points, and center Jordan Hill and
guard Wayne Ellington added 13 points apiece for the Lakers (11-25),
who lost for the third time in four games and the sixth time in
eight.
Lakers forward Kobe Bryant, who failed to score in the first half,
managed just four points, missing 10 of 12 shots and all three of
his 3-point attempts. Bryant managed eight rebounds and seven
assists, but he committed six turnovers in 28 minutes.
"They're just better," Bryant said of the Clippers. "They just come
at you in waves."
Bryant played facilitator in the first half, but it worked to the
Clippers' benefit. The Lakers fell in a considerable hole, and they
couldn't dig out.
"First of all, I thought Matt did a great job on him," Griffin said
of Barnes' defense on Bryant. "Second, it is going to be one of two
ways. Either (Bryant) is going to play that way (facilitating) or he
is going to be really aggressive and take shots. We'll take either
way."
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The Clippers, who led by as many as 43 points, never trailed. They
held a 34-24 advantage after one quarter and increased the margin
significantly by halftime.
After Clarkson scored on a drive to pull the Lakers within 41-37,
guard J.J. Redick's four-point play initiated a 29-11 run. The surge
included a windmill dunk by Griffin, and the Clippers maintained a
70-48 cushion at the break.
Paul scored 17 of his points in the first half on 7-of-9 shooting,
including 3-for-3 on 3-pointers, while Griffin scored 16 on 6-of-8
shooting.
It got worse for the Lakers in the second half. By the end of the
third quarter, the Clippers held a 99-63 edge.
Overall, the Clippers converted 47.1 percent (40 of 85) of their
shots compared to 43.1 percent (37 of 85) for the Lakers. They also
made 12 of 33 (36.4 percent) of their 3-point shots to five of 20
(25 percent) for the Lakers.
NOTES: The Clippers traded reserve G Jared Cunningham, the draft
rights to G Cenk Akyol and cash considerations to the Philadelphia
76ers in exchange for the draft rights of Ukraine F Serhiy Lishchuk,
who plays in the Spanish League. ... Lakers G Ronnie Price missed
the game with a broken nose and the flu. G Jeremy Lin replaced him
in the starting lineup and scored 12 points. Also, F Wesley Johnson
sat out his second straight game with a strained right hip flexor.
Lakers G Wayne Ellington started in his spot. Coach Byron Scott said
Johnson would be re-evaluated Friday. ... The Clippers won the
initial meeting 118-111 on Oct. 31. ... The Lakers host the Orlando
Magic on Friday, while the Clippers play back-to-back contests
Saturday and Sunday against the Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat at
Staples Center.
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