Clippers-Wizards Preview

By JEFF MEZYDLO
Posted Feb 03 2012 11:38PM

The Los Angeles Clippers have put together a talented roster that's currently sitting atop the Pacific Division.

That roster is about to get a little deeper.

One day after acquiring veteran forward Kenyon Martin, the Clippers open a six-game road stretch looking for a sixth consecutive victory over the lowly Washington Wizards on Saturday night.

Though Los Angeles (13-7) had its season-high four-game winning streak snapped with a 112-91 loss to Denver on Thursday, the Clippers remain confident heading into their six-game, 10-day trip while Staples Center plays host to the Grammy awards.

"Win them all," star Blake Griffin said. "That's our goal and it's possible."

Sweeping the trip might be a tall order with stops at Orlando, Philadelphia and Dallas on the slate, but the Clippers should get a boost with addition of Martin.

Averaging 13.5 points and 7.2 rebounds during his career, the 34-year-old Martin signed a one-year deal with Los Angeles on Friday to return to the NBA after a brief stint playing in China. Though it's uncertain when the 11-year veteran will make his Clippers debut, Martin is expected to provide front-court depth behind Griffin and DeAndre Jordan.

Martin's presence should further solidify an already solid Clippers team that has flourished with the additions of veteran guards Chris Paul (18.9 points, 9.1 assists per game) and Chauncey Billups (14.9 ppg, 4.1 apg).

"Everyone's getting a little bit more comfortable, getting a little bit better rhythm," coach Vinny Del Negro said. "The more the guys are together, they build trust with each other."

"We're all focused and smart enough to know we're definitely not even close to being a finished product. We have a lot of room for improvement."

The Clippers will need to improve after they allowed Denver to shoot 53.4 percent and outscore them 32-16 in the third quarter. Griffin had 18 points as Los Angeles went 8 of 27 from 3-point range.

A visit to Washington (4-19) might provide the ideal setting for the Clippers to bounce back.

Los Angeles has averaged 112.2 points on 49.1 percent shooting during a five-game winning streak against Washington. The Clippers totaled 249 points in two victories over the Wizards in 2010-11.

Griffin combined for 59 points on 22-of-36 shooting in those two contests. He had 33, 17 rebounds and 10 assists for his first career triple-double during a 127-119 double-overtime home victory over the Wizards on March 23.

Washington will try to avoid a fourth consecutive defeat after falling 106-89 at Toronto on Friday. The Wizards have allowed 103.0 points per contest while losing four of five.

"We've got another game (Saturday) so we've definitely got to make up for it," forward JaVale McGee said of the Wizards, who shot 37.9 percent Friday.

Swingman Nick Young, who had 21 points versus Toronto, has averaged 20.8 in the last four games.

Teammate John Wall totaled 57 points and 18 assists in two games against the Clippers last season.

Washington's Rashard Lewis had eight points against the Raptors, leaving him six shy of 15,000 for his career. Lewis is about to join Paul Pierce and Jason Kidd as the only players to score at least 15,000 points, grab 5,000 rebounds and make 1,500 3-pointers.

Griffin nearly gets triple-double in Clippers rout

Posted Feb 04 2012 10:56PM

WASHINGTON (AP) Blake Griffin fell two assists shy of a triple-double, and he didn't even play in the fourth quarter.

It was that kind of dominating night for the Los Angeles Clippers, who rebounded from a disappointing loss in a big way, jumping on the Washington Wizards early and cruising to a 107-81 win.

Griffin had 21 points, 11 rebounds and tied a season-high with eight assists to lead Los Angeles, but he was hardly the only Clippers player to pile up big numbers.

DeAndre Jordan shot 9 for 11 from the field for 18 points and had 11 rebounds. Mo Williams had 17 points and eight assists. The Clippers outrebounded Washington 53-32 and had a 32-17 advantage in assists.

Los Angeles lost to the Nuggets on Thursday and started a six-game road trip at Washington, so this was exactly the type of win the Clippers were looking for.

"We were all disappointed in our performance the other day against Denver," Jordan said. "We really wanted to jump out on them early and set the tone."

John Wall and Nick Young each scored 14 points for the Wizards, which were also coming off an even-more-disappointing-than-usual game, a 106-89 loss at Toronto on Friday night. Unlike Los Angeles, Washington was unable to get a momentum boost, instead losing for the fourth straight time and falling to 4-20 this season.

"It was pitiful," Wall said. "They could do whatever they wanted - whenever they wanted - all night."

Los Angeles never trailed and opened up a double-digit lead midway through the first quarter after a 13-2 run. The Clippers led 28-17 after the first quarter and removed any doubt about the outcome by scoring the final nine points of the first half, taking a 58-34 lead into halftime.

The Wizards weren't able to regroup after the break, scoring just four points in the first 6 1/2 minutes of the third quarter as Los Angeles opened up a 36-point lead, the largest advantage the Clippers have had in any game this season.

"We came out in the third quarter and kind of put it on them there pretty quickly," Griffin said. "Guys were hitting shots and we were getting stops and getting out in the open court - I think that's when you feel like we can keep it going."

Griffin had a number of his usual crowd-pleasing dunks, saving his best for last. With a minute to play in the third quarter, Griffin soared high for an alley-oop dunk from Williams.

The monster slam gave Los Angeles a 81-50 lead and earned the biggest cheer of the night from the Verizon Center crowd of 19,419. It was Washington's largest crowd of the season.

"We all should have been embarrassed. We were on our home court - and they came out and did what they wanted," said Wizards forward Rashard Lewis, who had two points. "As a unit, none of us came to play tonight."

Jordan followed Griffin a few seconds later with an electrifying dunk of his own, flying in after Griffin missed a free throw to slam the ball home.

The Clippers were playing so well it hardly mattered that Chris Paul had an off night on the offensive end, scoring a season-low two points on 1 of 9 shooting. Paul did have seven assists and said he was pleased by the team's defensive effort.

"From the tip to the end of the game, we controlled the game," Paul said. "When we get stops, we're tough to guard in transition. We've got the shooters, we've got the high fliers and all that. When we defend teams, we're tough to beat."

NOTES: Wizards F Trevor Booker was in the starting lineup for the sixth time this season, and the first since Jan. 16. He replaced Jan Vesely, who had started the previous five games. ... Washington scored fewer than 20 points in each of the first three quarters for the first time this season. ... Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said F Kenyon Martin, who signed with Los Angeles Friday, will join the team Sunday in Orlando. Del Negro said he didn't know what role Martin would play until they met and Del Negro assessed Martin's conditioning. ... Caron Butler was facing Washington for the first time since the Wizards traded him to Dallas in 2010. ... Griffin was 1 for 7 from the free throw line, missing his first five. Including the Clippers' previous game against Denver, Griffin missed seven free throws in a row, which tied a career long drought according to STATS LLC.

Notebook: Clippers 107, Wizards 81

By Rich Dubroff, for NBA.com
Posted Saturday February 4, 2012 11:36PM

THE FACTS: Blake Griffin had 21 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, DeAndre Jordan had 18 points and 11 rebounds and Mo Williams had 17 points to lead the Los Angeles Clippers over the Washington Wizards 107-81 on Saturday night.

The Clippers never trailed, led by 24 at halftime, and stretched their lead to 36 in the third quarter as they won their fifth in six games. It was their sixth win against the Wizards.

Washington is now 4-20, and was led by Nick Young and John Wall, who both had 14. Young had 10 of his 14 in the first quarter.

QUOTABLE: "When we came out in the third quarter, and were kind of put it on them there pretty quickly, guys were hitting shots and we were getting stops and getting out in the open court, I think that's when you feel like we can keep it going."
-- Griffin on the third quarter when Los Angeles stretched its lead to 36.

THE STAT: The Clippers outrebounded the Wizards 53-32, and nearly doubled Washington's assist total-32-17. "We got dominated again in every category," Washington coach Randy Wittman said.

TURNING POINT: With the score tied at 10, Los Angeles scored the next nine points, and the game was never close.

QUOTABLE II: "It was pitiful. They could do whatever they wanted-whenever they wanted-all night."
-- Wall on the Wizards' performance.

HOT: Jordan, who was shooting 66.3 percent from the field entering the game, made nine of 11 from inside.

NOT: The Clippers dominated even though Chris Paul had his lowest scoring game of the season. Paul missed eight of his nine shots and had just two points. "I couldn't throw a rock in the ocean tonight, but it's crazy. I feel like it was one of my best games so far," Paul said.

GOOD MOVE: Jordan kept going inside against the woeful Wizards' defenders, and he made them pay. "We embarrassed ourselves. We didn't do nothing as a unit," Wizards F Rashard Lewis said.

BAD MOVE: Young likes to brag how well he does against Los Angeles teams. After he scored 10 points in the first quarter, he missed 7-of-8 from the field.

NOTABLE: Griffin's eight assists tied his season high, and he narrowly missed his third triple-double. His first came in a double-overtime win against Washington last March

IN THE ARENA: The game drew 19,419-the largest of the year to the Verizon Center. Most were attracted by Griffin.

NEXT: Clippers: Monday at Magic, Wednesday at Cavaliers, Friday at Sixers. Wizards: Monday vs. Raptors, Wednesday vs. Knicks, Friday vs. Heat

• Clippers: Bledsoe, Martin
• Wizards: Blatche, Turiaf

• Clippers: Griffin
• Wizards: Booker, Wall, Wittman

• Lead Changes: 0
• Times Tied: 2

• Arena: Verizon Center, Washington, DC
• Officials: #38 Michael Smith, #65 Sean Wright, #79 Kevin Scott
• Attendance: 19419
• Duration: 2:13