Clippers continue run of domination over Lakers with 115-104 win
They were two teams traveling down completely different paths, one of them in search of a lost killer mentality as the playoffs approach and the other seeking to play the right way despite another lost season.
For the Clippers, their 115-104 home victory over the woeful Lakers on Saturday afternoon at Staples Center didn’t dispel the notion that all is well for a group that’s four games away from playing in the postseason.
For the Lakers, their ability to overcome a 17-0 lead at the start of the game and to turn a 22-point deficit in the third quarter into an eight-point game in the fourth still only meant another defeat for a team with the second-worst record (21-55) in the NBA. It was their 18th loss in the last 20 meetings with their Staples Center mates.
In the end, the Clippers will take the win because that’s all that really matters as they chase the fourth-seeded Utah Jazz for home-court advantage in the Western Conference.
Behind another stellar game from Blake Griffin, whose 36 points on 12-for-15 shooting, eight rebounds and five assists was a major factor, the fifth-seeded Clippers moved to within one game of the Jazz.
“But again, we just haven’t put the lid on games very well,” Griffin said. “It is a little concerning. We got to figure it out. But we also got to get these wins. I like the way we did finish the game out, but we’ve got to be better.”
Griffin has played at a high level for the Clippers, even stepping out to the three-point line against the Lakers, knocking down four of his seven attempts.
He now has scored more than 10,000 points, making Griffin the first player to have that many points while exclusively wearing a Clippers uniform. Griffin ranks second on the franchise’s all-time scoring list with 10,034 points. He’s behind Randy Smith, who had 10,467 of his franchise-record 12,735 points while playing for the Buffalo Braves.
Griffin has teamed with Chris Paul to score many of his points, the two becoming one of the top duos in the league.
Paul’s 29 points and 12 assists helped to supplement Griffin’s effort.
“Right now, I think we’re both in a good rhythm,” Paul said, “and we got to stay there.”
The Lakers made a push in the fourth quarter behind rookie Brandon Ingram’s energized work. He had 10 of his 18 points in the fourth, his return from a three-game absence because of tendinitis in his right knee on point.
“It’s important for me to keep building and come out here and show some aggressiveness,” Ingram said. “I think I had a little rest so I can get back and reflect on what I’ve been doing and just keep it going.”
The tale of two different teams was never more evident than in the first quarter.
The Lakers looked pathetic, falling behind 17-0 in the first eight minutes of the game.
But they showed some pride, closing to within one point later in the first.
“Obviously that’s a playoff team over there,” Lakers Coach Luke Walton said about the Clippers. “They’ve been one of the top teams for the last couple of years. So to scrap and stay in the game against them was a lot of fun and really good for our guys.”
On the flip side, losing big leads like they did against the Lakers has become a common occurrence for the Clippers. It’s an issue they admittedly have to solve despite having won seven of their last nine games.
“Once it happens, we talk about it. ‘Keep our foot on the gas. Put our foot on the gas.’ Once it happens, you can’t dwell on it,” Paul said. “You can’t be like, ‘Man, we shouldn’t have let them score.’ I be like, ‘All right, it happened. Let’s finish it.’ So that’s the biggest thing with our team, is finish.”
Follow Broderick Turner on Twitter @BA_Turner
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