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Los Angeles belongs to the Clippers right now, and they’re looking for much more than city dominance at this point.
Chris Paul had 30 points and 13 assists, Blake Griffin added 24 points, and the Clippers led all the way in a 107-102 victory on Friday night, giving them two wins in two games this season against their Staples Center co-tenants. They also stopped a two-game skid and maintained the NBA’s second-best record at 26-8.
”Right now we’re just focused on being one of the best teams in the league, not just the city,” said Lamar Odom, one of four former Lakers on the Clippers’ roster. ”Focus can’t be just to be better than one team. Now we’re trying to be great.”
Kobe Bryant scored 38 points and Dwight Howard had 21 points and 15 rebounds for the Lakers.
Bryant carried them in the fourth quarter when they closed to 99-97 on his 23-foot jumper with 1:29 left. But Paul scored the Clippers’ final eight points to seal the victory and drop the Lakers two games below .500. The Clippers lead the Lakers by 10 games in the standings…
Bryant scored 16 points in the fourth, when the Lakers rallied from 19 points down. The Clippers fouled for much of the final 5:51, and the Lakers made 10 of 12 free throws. Howard missed two foul shots but then made two to get the Lakers within four before Bryant’s jumper got the Lakers the closest they had been since early in the game…
Clippers F Jamal Crawford missed the game with a sore left foot that he hurt in Denver. … Clippers G Chauncey Billups will start working out Saturday after being out most of the season recovering from surgery.
— Reported by Beth Harris of the Associated Press
