Clippers Have Run of Place

It seemed like old times Friday night at Staples Center for the Clippers and Lakers, which wasn’t good news for the Clippers.

The Lakers were feeling good about themselves after consecutive double-digit victories.

The Clippers?

Well, they had lost a season-high five straight games and often appeared lost in the process, so facing the Lakers and Kobe Bryant, the NBA’s leading scorer, could have been another blow to their psyche.

But in a turnaround season for the Clippers, they had one of their most significant rebound performances in a 102-83 victory over their in-house rivals.

The Clippers, losers of six of seven, went on a 16-0 run in the third quarter and overcame the early loss of center Chris Kaman, who suffered a sprained left ankle late in the first quarter, did not return and is expected to sit out at least two games.

Again, Elton Brand led the way. The All-Star power forward had a big second half while scoring 32 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.

Bryant, who scored 50 points Jan. 7 in a 112-109 victory against the Clippers, had 39 Friday. He tormented the Clippers with his usual assortment of highlight-tape shots, but it wasn’t enough.

Bryant got little help, as the Lakers’ second-highest scorer was Chris Mihm with 11. Lamar Odom had eight points on three-of-12 shooting and Kwame Brown was scoreless in 25 minutes.

The Clippers haven’t had much fun recently, but routing the Lakers seemed to brighten their mood.

“Huge game, just for our morale and confidence,” said Brand, who had 24 points after halftime, 16 in the decisive third, in his team-leading 31st double-double.

“It’s definitely a rivalry. They’re in the eighth spot [in the Western Conference], we’re in the fifth and both teams are vying for the same thing.”

Vladimir Radmanovic sparkled in his first game at Staples Center since joining the Clippers in a trade before the All-Star break.

The 6-foot-10, three-point specialist displayed his long-range touch, scoring 19 points while connecting on five three-pointers in eight attempts, and seldom-used forward Walter McCarty delivered off the bench.

With Kaman sidelined and backup center Zeljko Rebraca struggling, Coach Mike Dunleavy tried many combinations, and McCarty proved to be a good fit, scoring seven points, grabbing five rebounds and playing strong defense in 18 minutes.

“If you work hard, you’ll always end up in the right situation,” said McCarty, who had played in only 22 games. “I’ve definitely been frustrated, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t, but I knew I’d take it when my time came.”

With the Clippers leading, 62-60, in the third, Brand took charge, scoring nine points in the 16-0 blitz that extended the lead to 78-60.

McCarty was also instrumental during the key stretch, helping the Clippers set the tone on defense and scoring on a dunk that triggered a standing ovation with 3:17 remaining in the quarter.

The Clippers (31-23) moved within 5 1/2 games of the first-place Phoenix Suns in the Pacific Division. The third-place Lakers (28-27) are nine games back.

“It didn’t matter if Kobe had 60 and Lamar had 30, they beat our butts up and down the court,” Odom said.

“That can’t happen ... a malfunction on both ends of the court, defense in particular. They got what they wanted all night.”

And that was at least in part because the Lakers didn’t maintain their composure in a rivalry showdown, Bryant said.

“We got caught in the hype of the game,” said Bryant who made 12 of 29 shots, including five of 11 three-point tries. “When I see that, that’s when I have to start shooting the ball, get something going.”

Cuttino Mobley, who had 22 points, was again productive while dealing with Bryant on defense, among the keys for the Clippers, who took an early 12-1 lead.

“We were aggressive with them,” Mobley said. “We struck first, and that was the result. It wasn’t about the Lakers.

“It was a home game and the Los Angeles people get into it.”

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Dueling All-Stars

BRYANT

*--* DATE RESULT PTS REB AST Feb. 24 L 102-83 39 4 8 Jan. 7 W 112-109 50 8 8 Nov. 18 L 97-91 36 4 5

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BRAND

*--* DATE RESULT PTS REB AST Feb. 24 W 102-83 32 11 3 Jan. 7 L 112-109 28 10 1 Nov. 18 W 97-91 23 14 3

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