The way Blake Griffin saw it, a sloppy effort by the Los Angeles Clippers only made things easier for Rudy Gay and the fired-up Raptors.

Gay wowed a sellout crowd by scoring 20 points in his Toronto debut, leading the Raptors to a 98-73 rout of the short-handed Clippers on Friday night.

”The way we played had a big effect on their flow,” Griffin said. ”Not to take anything away from them - they did a good job - but our defense was terrible.”

The Clippers were pretty terrible on offense, too, setting season lows for points and field goal percentage (34.7). Los Angeles’ previous low in points was 76 at Brooklyn on Nov. 23, while its previous low in field goal percentage was 36.6 on Jan. 19 in a home win over Washington.

”We didn’t execute very well, we didn’t shoot it very well,” coach Vinny Del Negro said. ”We struggled in a lot of areas.”

Amir Johnson had 19 points and matched his career high with 16 rebounds for the Raptors. DeMar DeRozan also scored 19 as Toronto welcomed Gay with a winning effort two days after the high-scoring forward was acquired from the Memphis Grizzlies in a three-team trade that included Detroit…

John Lucas scored 17 and Aaron Gray had seven points and 12 rebounds for the Raptors, who handed the Clippers their fourth straight loss in Toronto and their largest defeat of the season…

Griffin had 17 points and nine rebounds for the Clippers, who were without point guard Chris Paul (bruised right kneecap) for the sixth straight game…

Jamal Crawford scored 14 points, Caron Butler had 12 and Eric Bledsoe 10 for Los Angeles, which has dropped five of eight overall.

– Reported by Ian Harrison of the Associated Press

Matt Barnes of the Los Angeles Clippers has been suspended one game without pay for striking Greg Stiemsma of the Minnesota Timberwolves in the neck, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident occurred with 8:26 remaining in the second quarter of the Clippers’ 96-90  victory over the Timberwolves on Wednesday, Jan. 30 at Target Center.

Barnes will serve his suspension tonight when the Clippers visit the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre.

To view the play, click on this link.

Lazar Hayward has returned to the Los Angeles D-Fenders, it was announced today.  Hayward, signed by the Minnesota Timberwolves on December 31st, became the D-Fenders first NBA Call-Up of the season and 12th in team history.

Selected by Washington in the first round of the 2010 NBA Draft (30th overall) and later traded to Minnesota on draft day, Hayward has been a member of Minnesota, Oklahoma City and Houston since joining the NBA.  In 72 career NBA games with the Thunder and Timberwolves, Hayward has averaged 2.9 points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.5 assists in 8.2 minutes.  The 6-6, 225 pound forward also played three games with Tulsa of the NBA Development League in 2012, averaging 24.0 points 5.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 34.3 minutes.

A standout at Marquette University, Hayward finished his career with the Golden Eagles as the program’s second all-time leading scorer (1,859 points) and fifth all-time leading rebounder (910 rebounds) after averaging 13.5 points (45.2 FG%; 35.7 3FG%) along with 6.6 rebounds in 138 career games.  Additionally, the Buffalo, New York native was named to the All-Big East Second Team (2008, 2010) as well as the Big East All-Tournament Team (2010), and earned an All-America Honorable Mention selection by the Associated Press (2010) during his time at Marquette.

There still is no set date for the return of injured Clippers point guard Chris Paul, Coach Vinny Del Negro said Sunday.

“Day to day, no timetable,” Del Negro said of Paul, the team’s star playmaker who is out because of a bruised right kneecap.

“With a bone bruise it’s just a matter of letting it calm down,” and then the Clippers have to wait “until he gets out on the court [in practice] and see how he reacts,” Del Negro said.

In the meantime, “it’s a matter of when [head trainer] Jasen [Powell] gives him the OK to get out there and start working,” Del Negro said.

– Reported by Jim Peltz of the Los Angeles Times

The Clippers know Lamar Odom isn’t shooting the basketball well, but the team still wants him to take his shots.

They want Odom to be more aggressive on the offensive end. They especially want Odom to look for his shot more than he has.

Before the Clippers played the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night at the Rose Garden, Odom had taken a total of 200 shots, the ninth-highest on the team.

He’s making just 37% of his shots, 12.2% (six for 49) of his three-point shots.

But that doesn’t mean the Clippers don’t want Odom to shoot the basketball.

“I don’t want to rattle the boat,” Odom said after taking some extra shots at Saturday’s shoot-around.

– Reported by Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times

Nicolas Batum had 20 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high 12 assists for his second triple-double in a week and the Portland Trail Blazers handed the Los Angeles Clippers their fourth straight loss with a 101-100 victory on Saturday night.

The Clippers, playing without guard Chis Paul for the third straight game because of a bruised right kneecap, trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half but reclaimed the lead in the fourth quarter.

They held off the Blazers until Wesley Matthews pulled Portland within 100-99 with a layup and free throw.

J.J. Hickson made a pair of foul shots to give the Blazers back the lead with 45 seconds left and Jamal Crawford missed a 19-foot jumper for the Clippers with 0.9 seconds left for the final margin.

Blake Griffin had 24 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds for the Clippers, just shy of his third career triple-double.

The Clippers are 3-3 in the six total games Paul has missed because of his kneecap.

Eric Bledsoe once again started in the All-Star guard’s place…

The Clippers have been without guard Chauncey Billups since Dec. 5 because of tendinitis in his left foot. Billups, Del Negro said, is improving, although there is still no timetable for his return. … DeNegro said he thought Clippers sixth man Jamal Crawford - who played for the Blazers last year - should have made the All-Star team. Crawford is averaging 16.7 points and playing starter’s minutes (29.3 per game) with the Clippers. ”Obviously I’m biased,” Del Negro said. ”Jamal has been fantastic for us.”

– Reported by Anne M. Peterson of the Associated Press

The Phoenix Suns are 2-0 under Lindsey Hunter, and the Los Angeles Clippers dearly miss Chris Paul.

Goran Dragic scored 19 of his 24 points in the first half and the Suns held on to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 93-88 on Thursday night, giving Hunter his second victory in two nights as interim coach after he replaced the fired Alvin Gentry.

Marcin Gortat added 15 points, including two free throws with 23.3 seconds left. Luis Scola and Markieff Morris had 14 apiece for the Suns, who have won consecutive games for the first time since a season-high, four-game winning streak ended on Dec. 19. Dragic also had eight assists.

The Clippers, who lost their third straight, were without Paul for the fifth time in seven games because of a bruised right kneecap. The team is 3-2 without him, and he’s expected to miss two more games.

Jamal Crawford led Los Angeles with 21 points. Eric Bledsoe scored 15 and Blake Griffin had 12. Griffin said he reinjured his left ankle early in the game but still played 36 minutes.

”Our offense was stagnant,” Griffin said. ”Our defense wasn’t great. We did a poor job and it starts with me. I have to do a better job of setting the tone early and being a leader out there, especially with Chris not out there.”

The Clippers shot just under 40 percent for the game, 33 percent (7 for 21) in the fourth quarter.

– Reported by Bob Baum of the Associated Press

The Los Angeles Clippers have agreed to a 10-year extension of their STAPLES Center lease it was jointly announced by Andy Roeser, President, Los Angeles Clippers and Timothy J. Leiweke, President & CEO, AEG, owner and operators of the Los Angeles arena.

“We are very excited about our present and our future at STAPLES Center. It is indeed an honor to benefit from the sustained stability that accompanies being part of the greatest venue in the NBA, and we are glad to provide this state of the art backdrop to our deserving and loyal fan base,” said Clippers’ President Andy Roeser.

The Clippers, one of the arena’s original anchor tenants, played its first regular season game at STAPLES Center on November 2, 1999 against the Seattle Supersonics.  Under the new agreement, which becomes effective at end of the current 2012-13 season, the franchise will continue to call the arena their home thru June, 2024, a period of 25 years.

“Donald Sterling, Andy Roeser and the entire Clippers organization have been not just great partners but a huge part of the success of STAPLES Center,” said Timothy J. Leiweke, President & CEO, AEG.  “Their contributions have served to make this unique three team anchor tenant relationship both mutually successful as well as mutually beneficial.  We are happy for their many achievements and are proud to call them our partners and friends.”

Before games of Wednesday, January 22, the Los Angeles Clippers currently rank first in the NBA’s Pacific Division.  The team’s record of 32-10 (.761) is second best in the NBA.

Donald T. Sterling enters his 32nd year as Owner and Chairman of the Board of the Clippers. He ranks among the longest-tenured NBA owners and is one of the few remaining sole owners of a professional sports franchise in any league.

Jamal Crawford scored 22 points, Blake Griffin added 20 and the Los Angeles Clippers hardly broke a sweat in cruising to a 90-77 victory over the free-falling Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night.

Lamar Odom grabbed 12 rebounds and dished out six assists, and the Clippers outscored Minnesota’s bench 45-23 to overcome Chris Paul’s third straight missed game because of a knee injury.

Luke Ridnour scored 21 points and Ricky Rubio had four points and six assists in his first start of the season for the Timberwolves, who lost leading scorer and rebounder Nikola Pekovic to a bruised right quadriceps in the third quarter.

The Timberwolves shot just 35.7 percent and missed 15 of their 19 3-pointers in losing their fifth straight game.

Even without their MVP candidate out there to steer the ship over the last few games, the Clippers have been humming right along. Backup Eric Bledsoe clearly has been watching how Paul goes about his business because the third-year Kentucky point guard has played with a maturity and explosiveness that has allowed the Clippers to not miss a beat…

Pekovic was injured while getting tangled with Griffin under the basket in the third quarter and Alexey Shved rolled his left ankle midway through the final period, the latest in an incredible pile of injuries for the Wolves this season.

– Reported by Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press

Playing without Chris Paul proved no problem for the Clippers. Not having Rudy Gay was a much bigger issue for the Memphis Grizzlies.

Reserves Jamal Crawford and Matt Barnes each scored 16 points, and the Clippers easily routed the Grizzlies 99-73 Monday night with Paul missing his first game this season because of a bruised right kneecap.

”Missing the best point guard in the world in Chris Paul, we all had to play collectively and step it up, and I thought we did a good job of that,” Crawford said.

The matchup between two of the best teams in the West wasn’t close after the first quarter. While Paul watched from the bench, the Grizzlies were without their leading scorer: Gay was excused for his grandmother’s funeral in Baltimore.

This also was the Clippers’ first trip to Memphis since they won Game 7 of their opening-round playoff series last May. All they did was match their largest margin of victory on the road this season while holding the Grizzles to a season-low in points and their worst field goal shooting percentage on their home court in franchise history…

Eric Bledsoe, starting for Paul, had 14 points, and Blake Griffin scored 10. Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro was able to give nine players at least 17 minutes each before heading to Houston for the second half of a back-to-back Tuesday night…

Zach Randolph had 15 for Memphis, which lost its second straight blowout, after losing 104-83 at Dallas on Saturday night. Wayne Ellington added 11 in a rare start in place of Gay, and Darrell Arthur had 10 as the Grizzlies shot just 30.3 percent (27 of 89), a franchise-low at home. Randolph said they really missed Gay’s ability to drive and relieve pressure…

The Clippers had a 40-36 scoring edge in the paint as DeAndre Jordan and Griffin helped limit Randolph to 5-of-16 shooting and Marc Gasol to 4 of 13.

– Reported by Teresa M. Walker of the Associated Press

Two streaking teams going in opposite directions. The Clippers, co-owners of the NBA’s best record and on a roll at home. The Magic, playing opponents close only to fall short while piling up the franchise’s longest skid since the 2003-04 season…

J.J. Redick gave Orlando its first lead of the game on a 3-pointer with 42 seconds left, Arron Afflalo tied his season high with 30 points, and the Magic won 104-101 on Saturday to snap a 10-game skid.

“It wasn’t a letdown by us. Don’t try to take anything away from them,” Clippers guard Chris Paul said. “They made tough shot after tough shot. J.J. Reddick had a hand in his face half the time.” …

Redick added 21 points, and Vucevic had 18 points and 15 rebounds for the injury-riddled Magic, who also stopped a four-game road losing streak. They completed a sweep of the LA teams, having beaten the Lakers 113-103 at Staples Center on Dec. 2, when Afflalo also scored 30 points.

“Too bad we can’t play here all year,” said Afflalo, who starred at UCLA before Vucevic played across town at Southern California. “I was the sour grape at the end letting guys know this only counts as one game.”

Griffin tied his season-high with 30 points, Crawford added 13 points, and Paul had 10 points and 16 assists for the Clippers…

Grant Hill made his season debut for the Clippers, entering the game to a standing ovation in the fourth. The seven-time All-Star had missed 36 games with a bone bruise in his right knee. He made two free throws and had two rebounds in six minutes.

– Reported by Beth Harris of the Associated Press

Grant Hill is set to make his regular-season debut for the Los Angeles Clippers.

The seven-time All-Star is expected to play limited minutes on Saturday against the Orlando Magic, his former team. Hill has missed 36 games with a bone bruise in his right knee. He hasn’t played since Oct. 13 when he had eight points and three rebounds in an exhibition game against Miami in Shanghai.

He’s been practicing for a week and coach Vinny Del Negro said Hill hasn’t had any setbacks.

– Reported by the Associated Press

The Los Angeles Clippers had no intention of going 0-3 against the Golden State Warriors, and they played like it.

Chris Paul had 27 points and nine assists, Blake Griffin added 20 points and the Clippers set a franchise record with their 12th straight home victory, 115-89 over the Warriors on Saturday night.

”We’ve been pretty good at home,” Paul said. ”I think that’s 12 in a row for us here. It’s all about our fans, and we feed off them. So we’ve got to keep making this a tough place to play…

Jordan added 13 points and eight rebounds for Los Angeles, which built a 23-point lead through the first quarter and won for the 19th time in 21 games overall. Coach Vinny Del Negro pulled Griffin and Paul after the Clippers built a 96-60 lead with 2:40 left in the third quarter.

Klay Thompson had a team-high 14 points for the Warriors (22-11), who had won 12 of 15 and were trying to match the second-best start in team history behind the 1975-76 squad that won 25 of its first 33. They were 23-10 in 1955-56 and in 1991-92…

”The Clippers outplayed us in every facet of the game, but it wasn’t due to a lack of preparation,” Lee said. ”NBA players realize that out of an 82-game schedule there are going to be nights like this, and nights where you win by 30. They were on their fourth game in five nights, and they outplayed us from the jump.” …

Shooting guard Jamal Crawford, who leads the Clippers’ reserves with 16.5 points per game, missed his second straight contest because of a sore left foot.

– Reported by Joe Resnick of the Associated Press

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

“He gets my nomination for sixth man of the year,” Bryant said of Crawford after Thursday’s Lakers practice.

It’s quite an endorsement, though Crawford’s numbers speak pretty well for themselves.

Crawford, who comes off the bench for the Clippers, is averaging 16.5 points in 29.1 minutes a game. He was instrumental in the Clippers’ franchise-best 17-game winning streak and  has helped the team to an impressive 25-8 record.

Crawford, 32, was named sixth man of the year in 2010, but he’s never made an All-Star team.

– Reported by Melissa Rohlin of the Los Angeles Times

The son of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling was found dead of an apparent drug overdose at his Malibu home, authorities said Wednesday.

The body of Scott Ashley Sterling, 32, was found shortly after 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, Los Angeles County coroner’s Lt. Larry Dietz said.

The death cast a pall on what has been a joyous season for the Clippers, normally an NBA doormat but now among the league’s best teams. The team is in first place in its division and had a franchise-record 17-game winning streak that was snapped Tuesday.

Sterling, 77, a billionaire real estate mogul who purchased the team in 1981, and wife Shelley released a statement thanking friends for sympathy, asking for privacy and saying their son was diabetic, but did not indicate what role, if any, that may have played in his death.

– Reported by the Associated Press

Stephen Curry’s shooting stroke flowed so smoothly he swished shots without even looking at the basket.

At one point, the Los Angeles Clippers cornered Curry on the sideline near the Golden State Warriors’ bench. The 6-foot-10 Lamar Odom tried to crowd Curry out of bounds, and the diminutive point guard never hesitated to chuck up the shot.

”I lost sight of the rim and I knew it was going in,” Curry said. ”I haven’t been that locked-in in a while.”

Curry scored 25 of his 31 points in the first half, David Lee finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds and the Warriors coasted past the ailing Clippers 115-94 on Wednesday night.

After winning a franchise-record 17 straight games, Los Angeles has suddenly dropped two straight and has Golden State surging from behind.

Curry made nine of his first 10 shots, including 4 of 5 from beyond the arc, and added eight assists and six rebounds to pace Golden State’s 26-8 spurt to start the game. His twice-surgically repaired right ankle healthy again, Curry - along with Lee - is making a strong case to be the first All-Star for the Warriors since Latrell Sprewell in 1997…

Jamal Crawford scored 24 points on a sore left foot and Chris Paul had 23 points and six rebounds for the Clippers, playing with heavy hearts after learning of the death of owner Donald Sterling’s son earlier in the day. Small forward Caron Butler also wasn’t with Los Angeles because of personal reasons.

After owning the NBA’s longest winning streak since the Boston Celtics rolled off 19 consecutive games from Nov. 15 to Dec. 23, 2008, Los Angeles has struggled to shoot in losses at Denver and Golden State. The Clippers shot 38.5 percent in Tuesday night’s 92-78 loss at Denver and 36.4 percent at Golden State, ending a difficult 24 hours for the franchise.

– Reported by Antonio Gonzalez of the Associated Press

Atlanta Hawks coach Larry Drew and Los Angeles Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro today were named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Coaches of the Month, respectively, for games played in December.

Drew led the Hawks to a 10-5 (.667) month, including a 4-3 record on the road. Atlanta notched victories over the Denver Nuggets, Memphis Grizzlies and Chicago Bulls during December, a month in which the Hawks shot .456 from the field as a team and .384 from three-point range. For the first time in team history, the Hawks connected on 10-or-more three-pointers in four consecutive games (Dec. 22-29).

Del Negro led the Clippers to a perfect 16-0 record in December, including wins over the Boston Celtics and three wins over the Utah Jazz.  The Clippers’ franchise-best 17-game winning streak, which included the sixteen December wins, ended with their first game in January. The streak stands as the longest in the NBA since the 2008 season when Boston won 19 consecutive games.

Other nominees for Coach of the Month were Golden State’s Mark Jackson, Indiana’s Frank Vogel, Miami’s Erik Spoelstra, New York’s Mike Woodson, Oklahoma City’s Scott Brooks and Portland’s Terry Stotts.

Read NBA fan reaction and share your opinion in this basketball forum topic.

The 32-year-old son of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling was found dead Sunday night.

Sheriff’s Homicide Detectives were sent to a home on the 22600 block of Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu around 11:30pm last night, where they found the body of Scott Sterling.

The coroner’s office says he died of a possible drug overdose, but the cause of death will be confirmed by an autopsy.

– Reported by TMZ.com

Grant Hill smiled as soon as he was asked if he has a target date to play in his first game of the regular season for the Clippers.

“Yeah,” Hill said, smiling. “In my mind.”

Hill has a bone bruise in his right knee that has kept him out since the exhibition season.

He said he has “ramped up” his workout activity.

So Hill was asked what date he has in mind to play.

“Sometime in January,” is all Hill would say.

“Hopefully soon I’ll get to start practicing a little bit,” he said. “They are stressing that a lot of it is how you respond. So a target date could be sooner, it could be later. You want to let your body dictate that.”

– Reported by Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times