Lakers edge Clippers for 61st win

The AP reports: Lamar Odom had 18 points and 10 rebounds, Kobe Bryant added 18 points and the Los Angeles Lakers edged the Clippers 88-85 Sunday night to remain a game behind Cleveland for the NBA’s best record. The Lakers’ 61st victory was listless against a team that trails them by 43 games in the Western Conference. But they did just enough to win their third in a row, improve to 33-5 at home and assert themselves as the dominant tenant at Staples Center… Eric Gordon scored 24 points, Zach Randolph added 18 points and 10 rebounds and Brian Skinner grabbed 13 rebounds for the Clippers, who’ve lost five in a row and 12 of their last 15. Trailing 81-62 in the fourth—their third 19-point deficit—the Clippers scored 16 in a row, including eight by Fred Jones, to close to 81-78 with 2 1/2 minutes remaining.

Smith leads Nuggets past short-handed Clippers

The AP reports: J.R. Smith’s scintillating 34-point performance off the bench sparked the Denver Nuggets’ 120-104 win over the short-handed Los Angeles Clippers Saturday night for their 11th win in 12 games… Anthony added 18 points for the Nuggets. Zach Randolph led L.A. with 22 points, and DeAndre Jordan added 21. Smith scored 21 points in just 12 first-half minutes as the Nuggets raced to a 66-47 halftime lead… The depleted Clippers were missing Marcus Camby (ankle), Mardy Collins (foot), Ricky Davis (knee), Al Thornton (foot), and Chris Kaman (flu), and Dunleavy had no choice but to play Steve Novak, who scored nine points in 22 minutes on a tender ankle.

Paul has double-double, Hornets edge Clippers 104-98

The AP reports: Two starters are out and an All-Star is hurting, but the New Orleans Hornets still have Chris Paul to carry them. Paul had 30 points and 14 assists, David West added 19 points, and the Hornets moved closer to the top of the Southwest Division by beating the Los Angeles Clippers 104-98 on Wednesday night… Eric Gordon led Los Angeles with 25 and Zach Randolph added 24 for the Clippers, who lost their ninth straight to New Orleans… David West was limited to three rebounds, but provided enough scoring for a New Orleans team missing injured starters Peja Stojakovic and Tyson Chandler.

OKC Thunder sign Shaun Livingston

The Oklahoma City Thunder have signed guard Shaun Livingston to a multi-year deal, Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti announced today. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not announced.

Livingston, 23, is being called-up from the NBA Developmental League’s Tulsa 66ers, where he averaged 9.5 points, 6.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 29.4 minutes in 11 games (10 starts). At the time of his call-up, the 6’7’’ guard ranked seventh in the D-League in assists (6.0). He scored a season-high 22 points on March 27 at Rio Grande Valley Vipers and dished out a season-best 11 assists against Iowa Energy on March 12.

Originally selected by the L.A. Clippers in the first round of the 2004 NBA Draft (#4 overall), he has appeared in 149 NBA games with L.A. Clippers and Miami.  The Peoria, Illinois native owns career averages of 7.3 points, 4.7 assists, 3.1 rebounds in 26.8 minutes per contest.

Livingston, who will wear jersey #14 with the Thunder, becomes the 19th Call-Up of the 2008-09 season and the 137th player since the league began play in 2001.

Yao leads Rockets to easy win over Clippers

The AP reports: The Houston Rockets had three days of practice before their game against the Los Angeles Clippers, and that turned out to be little more than a glorified scrimmage. Yao Ming had 21 points and 15 rebounds, and the Rockets led from start to finish in an easy 110-93 victory Saturday night. Aaron Brooks added 21 points, Shane Battier scored 15 and the Rockets stayed in third place in the Western Conference by beating the Clippers for the 20th time in the last 24 meetings… Eric Gordon scored 17 and Chris Kaman had 16 points for the Clippers, who played without Baron Davis (calf strain/ulcers) and leading rebounder Marcus Camby (sprained left ankle). Los Angeles has lost 11 of its last 12 road games.

Spurs roll over Clippers to win 3rd straight

The AP reports: The Big Three were back together for a blowout. Yep, the San Antonio Spurs were glad to finally see one of these again. Reuniting Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili for the first time since the All-Star break, the Spurs celebrated with an easy 111-98 romp over the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night. It also was San Antonio’s most comfortable win in weeks. Parker had 18 and Ginobili had 14 before they and Duncan, who had 13, kicked back for most of the fourth quarter. They watched the Spurs win their third straight before, and now start the final 10 games finally healthy with a slim lead for the No. 2 seed in the West.

NBA rule change on too many players on court

The NBA Board of Governors voted to approve a playing rules change in regards to “too many players on the court”, which will take effect beginning Friday, March 27.

Under the playing rules change, when a “too many players on the court” violation is called, a technical foul will be assessed against the offending team and the non-offending team will have the option of either accepting or nullifying the game action that occurred during the violation.

Option 1 — Accept Game Action

The non-offending team can opt to ACCEPT all play that occurred during the violation, including any points scored, with no adjustment of the game clock.

Option 2 — Nullify Game Action

The non-offending team can opt to NULLIFY all play that occurred during the violation, other than any acts of unsportsmanlike conduct or flagrant fouls or any points scored from free throws as a result of such actions.

Under this option, following the technical foul, the game clock would be reset to the time when the ball was put into play with too many players on the court and, depending on how the ball was originally put into play, play would resume in accordance with the following:

1) If the original play commenced with a throw-in, then the ball would be returned to the original throw-in spot and play commenced with a throw-in.

2) If the original play commenced with a missed free-throw attempt where the ball remained in play, then play would be commenced with a jump ball held at center court between any two players who were on the floor at the time play was suspended due to the violation.

3) If the original play commenced with a jump ball, then play would be commenced with a jump ball held at the original jump-ball spot between the same two players who participated in the original jump ball.

Taylor, Randolph help Clippers edge Knicks in OT

The AP reports: Another big game at Madison Square Garden for Zach Randolph, another ill-timed technical foul for Al Harrington against the Clippers. Everything in this one had been seen before—except the performance from Mike Taylor. Taylor more than doubled his career high with 35 points, Randolph added 33 against his former team, and Los Angeles outlasted the New York Knicks 140-135 in overtime Wednesday night… Al Thornton scored 21 and Eric Gordon had 19 for the Clippers, who snapped a nine-game road losing streak… Harrington finished with 38 points and Wilson Chandler scored 22 for the Knicks, who matched a season high with their sixth straight loss.

Ray Allen scores 20, Celtics beat Clippers 90-77

The AP reports: Ray Allen scored 20 points and the Boston Celtics, sparked by an alley-oop dunk from Garnett, pulled away for a 90-77 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night. Garnett played 18 minutes, hitting all five field-goal attempts while scoring 12 points. He added two rebounds and two assists in his third game back since missing 13 with a sprained right knee… Zach Randolph led the Clippers with 17 points and 14 rebounds, while Baron Davis had 13 points, eight assists and seven boards.