Raptors-Clippers Preview

By ALAN FERGUSON
Posted Jan 21 2012 3:17PM

With a Los Angeles matchup looming, the Clippers are hoping to get healthier soon.

They might be able to manage without Chris Paul and Caron Butler, though, if they aren't available for a visit from the struggling Toronto Raptors on Sunday.

Paul has missed the past four contests with a strained left hamstring and Caron Butler was a late scratch from Friday's game against Minnesota due to a hyperextended right knee. Mo Williams was ejected with 6:21 remaining after scoring a game-high 25 points off the bench, and Los Angeles (8-5) faltered down the stretch in a 101-98 defeat.

The Timberwolves scored 11 of the game's final 13 points, including Kevin Love's 3-pointer at the buzzer, to end the Clippers' seven-game home win streak.

"They just made plays at the end," forward Blake Griffin said following his eighth consecutive double-double. "We've got to close out games and make sure that once we get up that we play to win."

Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said that Paul's availability Sunday will likely be a game-time decision.

Butler had an MRI on Thursday that showed no structural damage. The forward missed the final 50 regular-season games and the playoffs for Dallas in 2010-11 after undergoing surgery on that same knee, but Del Negro said this injury wasn't related.

Los Angeles could use both players during a matchup with the Lakers on Wednesday, but the Clippers might be all right if they have to miss the game against the Raptors (4-12).

Toronto's current seven-game skid is its longest since a 13-game losing streak Jan. 12-Feb. 2 last season, and it has also dropped 29 of 32 on the road dating back to Jan. 7, 2011. Among those defeats was a 94-90 loss to the Clippers on March 26, and the Raptors are the NBA's lowest-scoring team on the road this season with 81.9 points per game.

Like Los Angeles, Toronto is dealing with injuries, most notably leading scorer Andrea Bargnani's strained left calf. Bargnani had a game-high 27 points during a 98-93 home win over the Clippers on Feb. 13 but missed last season's visit to Staples Center because of an ankle injury.

The 7-foot Italian has missed the past five games but could return Sunday. Guard Jerryd Bayless sat out his 13th consecutive contest during a 94-84 defeat to visiting Portland on Friday.

The Raptors got off to another slow start, scoring 14 points in the first quarter for the third time in four games.

"Somehow, some way, we've got to get four good quarters together and get healthy," coach Dwane Casey said. "Health is huge in this league. It's not a forgiving league if you're not healthy."

Griffin's numbers against Toronto have been plenty robust. He topped 20 points and had at least 15 rebounds in each of last season's matchups.

Williams will try to score at least 25 points for his third straight game overall, but he averaged 10.0 during his two against the Raptors last season - one while with Cleveland. Paul, meanwhile, has averaged just 7.7 points on 22.6 percent shooting in his past three meetings with Toronto.

Raptors swingman and Los Angeles native DeMar DeRozan had 22 points Friday, but scored just seven on 3-of-15 shooting during his last visit to his hometown in the March defeat.

Clippers hand Raptors 8th straight loss 103-91

Posted Jan 22 2012 8:04PM

LOS ANGELES (AP) After Mo Williams' big fourth quarter helped the Los Angeles Clippers send the Toronto Raptors to their eighth straight loss, he preferred to share the credit with his teammates.

"I didn't do it by myself. I mean, let's get that straight," Williams said after scoring his team's first 17 points of the fourth quarter finishing with 26 in the Clippers' 103-91 victory on Sunday.

"Anytime you're doing something, you're not doing it alone. You can't play one-on-five - not in this league. It might look like it because I'm the guy making the baskets. But trust me, there's a lot of things that have to go on for me to get the ball in the right spots."

Williams went to work in the fourth and helped Los Angeles open up a 93-73 lead with 7:22 remaining after Toronto trimmed a 22-point deficit to 13 on Leandro Barbosa's 3-pointer with 8:25 to play.

"Obviously, my teammates know how to set screens. That's one thing we do really well," Williams said. "Today we really executed and the guys got me the ball in the right spots. I've been in this league nine years, so I think everybody's pretty confident with what I can do. I'm just playing and trying to do whatever I can to help the team."

It was the third straight game in which Williams scored at least 25 points. In Friday night's 101-98 loss to Minnesota, he was ejected with 6:21 left in the game after picking up his second technical foul. The Clippers were beaten by Kevin Love's 3-pointer at the buzzer, and it left a bad taste in his mouth.

"That didn't fuel me at all today," Williams said. "Obviously, it was a big ejection for myself, and I felt worse that I couldn't help my team after I got ejected and we lost that game. But I've been in this league long enough to know you can't worry about the last game. It doesn't really matter. You just have to move on."

Blake Griffin had 18 points and nine rebounds for the Clippers, playing their fifth straight game without point guard Chris Paul because of a left hamstring strain.

But they haven't suffered much because of their backcourt depth - starting with Williams.

DeAndre Jordan had 16 points and 16 rebounds and Chauncey Billups had 14 assists.

Caron Butler finished with 15 points.

Barbosa scored 19 points and Linas Kleiza added 16 off the bench for the Raptors, who began a five-game road trip by missing their first 15 shots and were 35.8 percent from the field overall.

DeMar DeRozan had 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds.

"Another loss - and the way we lost is definitely frustrating," DeRozan said. "We dug ourselves our own hole. We tried to fight back, but teams are too good in this league to allow that. Teams are going out there and jumping on our team. No one likes to take a loss, so we need to act like it from the start."

The Clippers never trailed. It took just 15 seconds after the opening tip for Griffin to slam home Randy Foye's alley-oop lob to start a 22-6 run.

Los Angeles led 49-37 at halftime after Jordan helped the team build an 18-point lead late in the first quarter with 10 points and nine rebounds.

"Our starts have been horrendous," Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. "We compete harder in practice than we do to start the games. That is nothing against the Clippers. They've got a very solid basketball team, and they are going to be in the money at the end of the day."

Los Angeles extended its margin to 60-38 with an 11-1 spurt run capped by Butler's 3-pointer.

Foye got it started when he blocked a 19-foot jumper by DeRozan and went the other way for a driving layup.

Moments later, Jordan converted Billups' alley-oop into a reverse slam dunk.

Raptors leading scorer Andrea Bargnani missed his sixth game in a row with a left calf strain. Guard Jerryd Bayless returned to the lineup after sitting out 13 games due to a sprained ankle.

Notes: The Raptors, who had a 13-game losing streak last season, haven't reached the 100-point mark in 16 straight games since their 104-96 win at Cleveland on opening night. They've allowed 100 or more only once, losing 102-96 at Orlando in their fourth game of the season. ... The Raptors are 19-13 against the Clippers and 8-8 against them at Staples Center. ... The Clippers are 9-0 when allowing fewer than 100 points and 0-5 when giving up 100 or more. ... Toronto is 0-10 when trailing after three quarters. ... DeRozan is 12 for 38 from 3-point range.

Notebook: Clippers 103, Raptors 91

By Dan Arritt, for NBA.com
Posted Sunday January 22, 2012 7:35PM

THE FACTS: Clippers guard Mo Williams continues to fill the scoring void left by the absence of four-time All Star Chris Paul, who missed his fifth straight game with a left hamstring injury. Williams overcame a slow start to score 26 points off the bench, the third straight game he has recorded 25 or more, helping the Clippers to a 103-91 victory Sunday afternoon against the Raptors at Staples Center.

QUOTABLE: "Mo came out and shot the ball well and was really on fire again. He's done a great job for us lately, especially being aggressive off the bench."
-- Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro.

THE STAT: Williams, who made his first seven shots from the field the last two games, had five points, four turnovers and three personal fouls at the half. He had only one field goal in the third quarter, but then exploded for 19 points in the fourth. It's the second time in his nine-year career that Williams has scored at least 25 points in three straight games. He scored 32, 36 and 31 in consecutive games as a starter with the Bucks in February 2008.

TURNING POINT: The Clippers used a 13-0 run midway through the opening quarter to build a 22-6 lead, and Toronto never pulled close than seven the rest of the way.

HOT: Clippers center DeAndre Jordan took advantage of the absence of Toronto 7-footer Andrea Bargnani, who missed his sixth consecutive game with a strained left calf. Jordan finished with 16 points and a season-high 16 rebounds. He had nine boards in the game's first nine minutes, helping the Clippers surge to a 20-6 lead. All but two of his points were scored on slam dunks.

NOT: Toronto's starting back-court combination of DeMar DeRozan and Jose Calderon were a combined 5-for-27 from the floor with 18 points. Raptors point guard Jerryd Bayless, in his first game since missing the previous 13 with a sprained left ankle, wasn't any more effective, shooting 2-for-9 with three turnovers. They Raptors matched their season low for points in a quarter with 11 in the opening 12 minutes and were held under 100 points for the 16th straight game.

QUOTABLE II: "We compete harder in practice than we do to start the games."
--Toronto coach Dwane Casey.

GOOD MOVE: Playing alongside Blake Griffin can make it difficult to make the highlight reels, but Jordan owned the best dunk of the night, catching a half-court lob pass from Chauncey Billups and scoring on a reverse slam to extend the lead to 53-37 early in the third quarter.

BAD MOVE: Trailing by 17 points with two minutes remaining and every Clipper starter on the bench, Casey still kept DeRozan on the floor the rest of the game.

NOTABLE: Sunday's game marked the sixth anniversary of Kobe Bryant's 81-point performance against the Raptors at Staples Center ... After the Clippers distributed a season-low 12 assists Friday in a three-point loss against the visiting Timberwolves, Billups had 14 helpers against the Raptors, his most since recording 14 in December 2008 ... Linas Kleiza scored a season-high 16 points off the bench for Toronto. Combined with the 19 points from reserve guard Leandro Barbosa, the duo outscored the Toronto starters (33 points).

UP NEXT: For the Clippers, Wednesday @ L.A. Lakers, Thursday vs. Memphis, Sunday @ Denver. For the Raptors, Tuesday @ Phoenix, Wednesday @ Utah, Friday @ Denver.

• Raptors: Alabi, Bargnani
• Clippers: Bledsoe, Paul

• Raptors: --
• Clippers: --

• Lead Changes: 0
• Times Tied: 1

• Arena: Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
• Officials: #24 Mike Callahan, #50 Olandis Poole, #40 Leon Wood
• Attendance: 19060
• Duration: 2:23