Blake Griffin delivers when it counts for the Clippers

When it became clear to the Clippers that the Lakers were going to stand strong on Friday night, they turned to Blake Griffin.

And Griffin delivered for the Clippers when the game hung in the balance at Staples Center.

He had eight of the Clippers’ final 20 points. He made all six of his free throws in the final six minutes 39 seconds. And he made the assist to Jamal Crawford for a three-pointer that finally put the Lakers away.

Griffin finished with 39 points on 13-for-23 shooting. He made 11 of 12 from the free-throw line.

“Besides the fact he scored 39 points, I think tonight was like a night where he really started to understand who he is and how good he is,” Chris Paul said after Friday night’s game. “He demanded the ball. And I think that was great.

“Any time he posted, he was like, ‘Bring it! Bring it!’ It was like music to our ears. He deserves it. He’s our go-to guy, and we need that.”

Griffin spent all summer working on his game. He improved his jump shot and footwork.

So when the Clippers, who didn’t practice Saturday, called on Griffin against the Lakers, he was ready.

He made two free throws to pull the Clippers to within two points in the fourth.

He made two free throws to tie the score. He scored on a reverse layup to give the Clippers a three-point lead and then passed out of a double team for a Crawford three-pointer that gave the Clippers a three-point lead again after the Lakers had tied the score.

Griffin made two more free throws for a three-point lead with 21.3 seconds left after the Lakers had pulled to within one point.

“Carrying over from last year and just the work I put in this summer, it’s confidence building,” Griffin said. “You know, when you know that you deposited a lot of money and you feel good about writing checks, that’s kind of what I’m doing now. It just kind of gives me that confidence.

“I know I’ve worked on this. I know I put the time in on this.”

Paul takes challenge

It was the ultimate challenge for Paul to take the defensive assignment of defending Kobe Bryant in the fourth.

Paul didn’t back down, even though the six-foot, 175-pound point guard was giving up six inches and 37 pounds to Bryant.

Besides, Paul really had no choice but to guard Bryant, because the Clippers had a three-guard lineup on the court in the fourth with Paul, Crawford and J.J. Redick.

Paul limited Bryant to one-for-seven shooting in the fourth.

“I looked around the court and I saw it was me, Jamal and J.J., and I was like, ‘I’ve got Kobe,’ ” Paul said. “He’s one of the best to ever play the game. I was just telling Jamal, that’s exciting to me just to compete. To guard him [Bryant], that’s tough.”