National Basketball Association
LA Clippers 113, L.A. Lakers 97
When: 3:30 PM ET, Saturday, January 14, 2017
Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Officials:
#71 Rodney Mott, #36 Brent Barnaky, #66 Haywoode Workman
Attendance:
19060
By The Sports Xchange
LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Clippers returned their Christmas gift.
Three weeks after losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in the prime-time holiday game, the Clippers handed the Lakers a 113-97 beating in the rematch Saturday afternoon at Staples Center.
"For one, CP played today. That helps," Clippers center DeAndre Jordan said with a chuckle, referring to point guard Chris Paul. "CP is a playmaker and he's one of our best defenders on the court. He gets guys going."
The Lakers' win on Christmas Day was one of only two they had in 16 December games and ended an 11-game winning streak for the Clippers in the L.A. rivalry. But the Clippers were without Paul and Blake Griffin due to injuries that day and lost J.J. Redick to a hamstring injury in mid-game.
Griffin remains out, recovering from knee surgery. But Paul and Redick were back at full strength for the rematch as the Clippers (28-14) extended their January win streak to six games. They have not lost since ending 2016 with a six-game losing streak.
"I don't know. I don't remember Christmas too much," Paul said. "We came out today. We played and we won. It's not a big deal.
"We don't pay attention to it too much. We're just trying to pile up wins. That's our single focus. I don't even know what number we are (in the Western Conference standings). We're just trying to win games, win games, win games."
The Clippers wasted no time re-asserting their dominance in the LA rivalry Saturday.
Even with Paul and Redick hitting just four of a combined 15 shots in the first half, the Clippers got off to a 10-4 start, went on an 11-0 run later in the first quarter (with Austin Rivers scoring nine points in the opening period) and built a 19-point lead, 58-39, at halftime.
"Overall, I've come to expect more from our guys," Lakers coach Luke Walton said. "I thought the way we started the game was just sloppy. We keep trying to teach that it is the little details of the game that matter and carry over.
"We weren't setting hard screens. We weren't rolling hard. Lucky for us, the Clippers were missing shots early so we stuck around. But we set a tone for ourselves."
Jordan had a double-double by halftime (12 points, 10 rebounds) on his way to a big game. He finished with a game-high 24 points on 12-of-13 shooting (all within reach of the rim) and added 21 rebounds. It was his second 20-20 game of the season and the first against the Lakers since Tobias Harris did it for the Orlando Magic against them on Jan. 24, 2014.
"DJ killed us all night," Walton said.
"He was terrific," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. "He was as dominant of a force as you can have in the NBA. That's how good he was."
The Lakers made what amounted to their only move of the day at the start of the second half. With Brandon Ingram and Nick Young hitting back-to-back 3s, they started the third quarter with a 10-2 run that cut the Clippers lead to 11, 60-49. But the Clippers responded with a 7-1 run of their own and the Lakers were never as close again.
"We needed to stop them defensively," Lakers guard Jordan Clarkson said. "They got everything they wanted today, offensively."
After his slow shooting start, Paul finished with 20 points and 13 assists for the Clippers. Rivers and Raymond Felton finished with 15 points each.
For the Lakers, D'Angelo Russell finished 1 for 7 for only five points. Their best production came from the bench. Clarkson led them with 21 points. Ingram finished with 14 (11 in the third quarter).
"He has been magnificent for us all month," Walton said of Russell's off day after averaging 17.4 points in his previous seven games. "Tonight, I didn't think he had that same bounce in his step, for whatever reason. We need him to be more aggressive and be the player we all know he is and the player he is capable of being."
NOTES: Saturday was only the third time since Staples Center opened in 2000 that the Lakers, Clippers and NHL's Los Angeles Kings all played in the building on the same day. After the Lakers and Clippers played in the afternoon, the arena was converted to hockey and the Kings were schedule to host the Winnipeg Jets at night. ... Lakers coach Luke Walton gave veteran forward Luol Deng the day off Saturday. It was the second time in the past six games Deng did not dress for the Lakers. In his past seven games, Deng is shooting 40 percent from the field and averaging 7.9 points per game. ... Clippers forward Blake Griffin went through a pregame workout without a sleeve or brace on his left knee. Griffin had surgery on Dec. 20 to remove loose bodies in the joint. Griffin's rehab has gone well and he could return before the end of January. ... Chargers owner Dean Spanos and his family were in attendance at Saturday's game. The Staples Center crowd booed when the new "Los Angeles Chargers" logo was shown on the video board during the first half.
Top Game Performances
L.A. Lakers |
|
LA Clippers |
Jordan Clarkson 21 |
Scoring |
DeAndre Jordan 24 |
Brandon Ingram 5 |
Assists |
Chris Paul 13 |
Julius Randle 8 |
Rebounds |
DeAndre Jordan 21 |
Brandon Ingram 4 |
Free Throws Made |
Chris Paul 4 |
Brandon Ingram 1 |
Steals |
Chris Paul 2 |
Tarik Black 1 |
Blocks |
DeAndre Jordan 2 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
L.A. Lakers
|
97 |
45.0 |
10-21 |
15-27 |
21 |
40 |
2 |
3 |
15 |
LA Clippers
|
113 |
52.2 |
10-28 |
7-8 |
28 |
42 |
6 |
6 |
8 |
Upcoming Games
-
LA Clippers will play their next game at home against Oklahoma City. The Clippers have a W/L % of .786 after a win and .429 after a loss.
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L.A. Lakers will play their next game at home against Detroit. The Lakers have a W/L % of .267 after a win and .379 after a loss.