Clippers-Bobcats Preview

By MATT BEARDMORE
Posted Feb 10 2012 11:39PM

The Los Angeles Clippers suffered a major setback earlier this week when veteran guard Chauncey Billups suffered a season-ending injury.

They can still give the ball to Chris Paul.

After leading the Clippers to their first win without Billups, the former Wake Forest star leads his new team into Charlotte on Saturday night when the league-worst Bobcats try to avoid losing a franchise-record 14th consecutive game.

With Billups gone for the season after suffering a torn left Achilles' tendon Monday in Orlando, more of the backcourt burden falls on Paul, named an All-Star for the fifth straight year last week.

After missing 11 of 16 shots and scoring 16 points in Wednesday's 99-92 loss at Cleveland, Paul converted 10 of 20 from the field in Friday's 78-77 victory over Philadelphia. The first-year Clipper finished with 24 points - none bigger than his 17-footer over All-Star Andre Iguodala with 3.2 seconds remaining.

The Clippers (16-8) improved to 3-1 on their six-game road trip and 1-1 without Billups.

"That's our first win without 'Big Shot,'" Paul said. "It gives us so much confidence."

They almost certainly have more confidence right now than the Bobcats (3-23), who haven't won since Jan. 14 against Golden State.

Charlotte skid continued Friday with an ugly 95-64 loss to Eastern Conference-leading Chicago. The Bobcats shot 32.9 percent and committed 16 turnovers en route to their lowest scoring output of the season.

"We just threw the ball away with no real focus, you know, no concentration," said coach Paul Silas, whose team matched the longest skid in club history set Jan. 11-Feb. 1, 2006. "It's really hard to explain. I really can't explain why because we go through our offense daily."

Their offense will face another stiff challenge against the Clippers, who allowed their fewest points of the season Friday and improved to 12-0 when giving up fewer than 95.

The Bobcats have scored as many as 95 points just once during their skid. They could be hard-pressed to reach that mark with leading scorer Gerald Henderson out two to four weeks with a strained hamstring and point guard D.J. Augustin expected to miss a 10th consecutive game with an injured toe.

That means rookie Kemba Walker will likely draw the assignment of guarding Paul.

The Bobcats' frontcourt of Boris Diaw and Tyrus Thomas could have their hands full with All-Star forward Blake Griffin, who is averaging 20.0 points, 11.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists on the Clippers' trip.

Griffin scored 17 points and grabbed 15 boards in Los Angeles' last trip to Charlotte, a 92-87 victory last March 7. The Bobcats had won the previous three times the Clippers were in town.

While playing for New Orleans, Paul averaged 20.0 points and 7.6 assists in five career games in Charlotte.

Griffin, Paul lead Clippers over Bobcats 111-86

By STEVE REED
Posted Feb 11 2012 11:00PM

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) Blake Griffin can't remember ever receiving an ovation from an opposing crowd after leaving a game.

But he got one Saturday night after an impressive performance that included several highlight-reel dunks in the Los Angeles Clippers' 111-86 rout of the Charlotte Bobcats.

Griffin finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds before leaving the game with a little more than six minutes remaining.

"That might be a first," Griffin said of the ovation. "That was pretty cool."

It was such a blowout that by the end of the third quarter the Clippers had built a 32-point lead as Griffin, Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan had already recorded double-doubles.

Paul toyed with the Bobcats, finishing with 18 points and 14 assists in only 28 minutes. Jordan had 11 points with 12 rebounds and Caron Butler added 16 points as the Clippers made sure there wouldn't be another letdown on this road trip like they had at Cleveland.

Even Paul said he's amazed watching Griffin play.

"He's a freak of nature," Paul said.

Kemba Walker had 19 points for the Bobcats, who've lost a franchise-record 14 straight and are on pace to match a dubious NBA record.

At 3-24, the Bobcats' winning percentage (.125) equals that of the NBA's all-time worst - the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers, who finished 9-72. The Bobcats are on pace to finish this year's lockout-shortened 66-game schedule with eight wins.

The Bobcats, who've lost their last six by an average of 24.8 points, simply had no answers for Paul and Griffin, who put on a basketball clinic in Charlotte.

Paul created easy passing lanes with his dribble and Griffin raised the volume at Time Warner Cable Arena with a handful of high-flying - and often uncontested - dunks.

They fed off each well, using pick-and-rolls to free each other up for easy shots.

One of the many highlight-reel plays came with 4:44 left in the third quarter when Paul threw a no-look, behind-the-back bounce pass from the wing to a cutting Griffin, who came charging down the lane at full speed, caught the ball and threw down a powerful one-handed jam all in one motion, bringing the crowd to its feet.

Paul said he's pleased with the chemistry he and Griffin have developed in such a short amount of time.

But he thinks they still have a long way to go.

"We're still working on it, but it's a lot of fun," Paul said. "With his basketball IQ, you can learn on the fly like that. This team was thrown together within a month, so as much as looks like we've figured each other out and know everything about each other, we don't."

Griffin said he doesn't have any set alley-oop plays with Paul, even though it looks like they've rehearsed them for years.

"When we're out there it's just eye contact or whatever," Griffin said. "That's how it works. I think that's the way we like to play, just freely and everybody moving through the screens and all that. That's what worked for us tonight."

Griffin's circus dunk gave the Clippers a 27-point edge.

Near the end of the third quarter the crowd had had enough of the home team and began booing the Bobcats after allowing Jordan to drive uncontested for a layup for a 36-point Clippers lead. Coach Paul Silas immediately called a timeout.

The Bobcats did go on a 14-2 run to cut the lead to 22, and Paul and Griffin returned briefly to ensure the Bobcats didn't get any closer.

The crowd didn't seem to mind at all as Griffin entertained them with the type of athleticism they haven't seen all year, including a few more ferocious dunks, two of them coming on breakaways.

"I wanted to bench guys to get more minutes but when they're going to make a run like that I'm just going to control the game a little bit and get us back on our feet a little bit," said Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro. "You're going to put your top players in there. I had to do that for a few minutes and then put the guys back in to finish it off."

Silas said playing without D.J. Augustin and Gerald Henderson is really taking a toll on his team. This was also only the second game back for Corey Maggette after missing 19 with a strained hamstring.

"You know, and I never make excuses but the fact is that 30 of our points are sitting on the bench," Silas said. "We don't have 30 points and if you take 30 points off anybody's roster, its' going to be tough... It's a real problem."

Maggette said the Bobcats' recent struggle has been tough for all involved, but the players haven't lost faith in Silas.

"We're just not playing hard as a group," Maggette said. "We're just not doing the right things right. Ultimately we need to make shots. We're shooting like 32 percent as a group and that's not going to cut it, especially against a good team."

NOTES: It was throwback night, and the Bobcats were honored as the Carolina Cougars of the ABA. The Clippers wore jerseys from the old Los Angeles Stars. ... Maggette was back in the starting lineup for the Bobcats, replacing Tyrus Thomas. Maggette saw limited action in Friday night's loss to Chicago. ... Del Negro said Chauncey Billups will undergo surgery on his torn Achilles on Wednesday in Colorado.

Notebook: Clippers 111, Bobcats 86

Posted Saturday February 11, 2012 10:33PM

By Derek Smith, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Blake Griffin scored a game-high 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to pace five starters in double figures as the Los Angeles Clippers routed the Charlotte Bobcats 111-86 Saturday night at Time Warner Cable Arena. The Bobcats set a franchise record with its 14th consecutive loss.

QUOTABLE: It was great. We were able to control the tempo of the game and get easy baskets off of transition thanks to our defense. We did good on our keys to the game. We limited their defensive field goal percentage; we rebounded well and had a solid assist-to-turnover ratio.
-- Los Angeles Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro.

THE STAT: Points in the paint. The Clippers dominated almost from the opening tip, but that domination was no more apparent than in the paint. LA scored 50 points in the paint compared to just 28 for Charlotte. Both Griffin and DeAndre Jordan picked up double-doubles while the Clippers outrebounded the Bobcats 48-32.

TURNING POINT: Jordan's slam after a miss by Griffin set the tone early for the Clippers and also sparked a 7-0 run which the Bobcats never recovered from. Jordan had 11 points and 12 rebounds including five on the offensive end. The tandem of Griffin and Jordan had eight points and eight rebounds in the opening quarter.

HOT: Griffin was on fire Saturday in Charlotte. The Clippers forward netted 21 points on 7-for-14 shooting including three monster dunks. His throw down in the third quarter electrified the building and brought life to an arena which had been lulled to sleep by the blowout. Griffin also added 10 rebounds, three assists and a blocked shot on the night. It was the fifth straight double-double for Griffin. He is averaging 20.2 points and 11.4 rebounds over the last five contests.

NOT: The Charlotte offense. The Bobcats are last in the league in points and scoring margin having been outscored by an average of 14.6 points per game this season. The Bobcats have yet to crack the 90-point barrier in February and are averaging just 78.6 points and 37.7 percent shooting over the last five games.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Chris Paul put another great stat line on Saturday. Paul scored 18 points and dished out 14 assists. He also added five rebounds and two steals while committing just one turnover. He shot 6-for-11 from the floor and was perfect from the charity stripe. He's averaged 21.8 points and 9.5 assists over the last four games for the Clippers and led them to three victories in that span.

INSIDE THE ARENA: Tonight was the first of five NBA Hardwood Classic games for the Charlotte Bobcats honoring the 35th anniversary of the ABA/NBA merger. Time Warner Cable Arena was decked out in its 70s finest to mark the occasion. The home team sported the Carolina Cougars uniforms from 1969-71 while the Clippers wore the LA Stars jerseys from 1968-70. Carolina Panther players Steve Smith and Jonathan Stewart were in attendance at the game.

NOTABLE: The Bobcats committed a season-low six turnovers and posted season highs in free throws made (33) and free throws attempted (43) ... Kemba Walker scored in double figures for the 17th time this season and had career bests in free throws made (11) and attempted (12) ... Derrick Brown was in double figures for the ninth time in his last 11 games ... Griffin recorded his 17th double-double of the season and scored 20 or more for the 15th time this year ... Caron Butler (16) scored in double figures for the 14th time this season while Randy Foye (12) scored in double figures for the 10th time.

UP NEXT: For the Clippers, Monday @ Dallas, Wednesday vs. Washington, Thursday @ Portland. For the Bobcats, Monday vs. Philadelphia, Wednesday @ Minnesota, Friday @ Toronto.

• Clippers: Billups
• Bobcats: Augustin, Henderson

• Clippers: Jordan, Martin
• Bobcats: --

• Lead Changes: 1
• Times Tied: 3

• Arena: Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte, NC
• Officials: #8 Marc Davis, #35 Kane Fitzgerald, #79 Kevin Scott
• Attendance: 19110
• Duration: 2:17