Wizards-Clippers Preview

By ALAN FERGUSON
Posted Feb 15 2012 2:27AM

A visit from the Washington Wizards might seem an ideal way for the Los Angeles Clippers to bounce back from a disappointing end to their successful road trip.

The Wizards, though, have gotten off to a surprisingly strong start to their own extended trip and will try to stay unbeaten on that trek Wednesday night.

Los Angeles (17-9) finished 4-2 on its trip but narrowly missed out on a victory Monday against Dallas, where Caron Butler missed a potential go-ahead 3-point attempt with four seconds to go in the 96-92 defeat.

"Our guys battled. We had some opportunities. I'm pleased with the effort but obviously not the result," coach Vinny Del Negro. "We competed well and had our chances, but weren't able to convert against a good team. We've got to get home and get feet under us.

Butler, though, was also responsible for keeping his team in the game with a season-high 23 points and eight rebounds. The forward also played for the Wizards (7-22) for four-plus seasons before being traded to Dallas on Feb. 13, 2010.

His former team is 3-10 on the road, but Washington has earned two of those victories to kick off its five-game trip. After blowing out Detroit in the opener Sunday, Washington shot 60.0 percent during its best scoring performance this season, a 124-109 win over Portland on Tuesday.

Nick Young scored a season-high 35 points and made seven of eight attempts from 3-point range during his team's third win in five games. John Wall was 10 of 14 overall while contributing 29 points and nine assists.

"It shows that we can definitely compete with anybody," said guard Jordan Crawford, who had 21 points.

Young and Wall scored only 14 points apiece and Crawford had 12 during a 107-81 drubbing at home to the Clippers on Feb. 4. Blake Griffin paced Los Angeles with 21 points while playing just three quarters.

When he exited, the Clippers were ahead 87-53 en route to their sixth consecutive win in the series. Los Angeles has won three in a row over Washington at the Staples Center and six of seven, but needed double overtime to claim a 127-119 victory there last season.

Griffin had the first of his two career triple-doubles during that game with 33 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists. Wall scored a then-career high 32 points in the matchup of 2009 and 2010 No. 1 draft picks, respectively.

Griffin has averaged 26.7 points, 11.0 rebounds and 6.7 assists during his three lifetime games against Washington, but the Clippers' other star, point guard Chris Paul, has struggled in the past four matchups, averaging 9.5 points.

He had two points on 1-of-8 shooting during the victory in Washington earlier this month. His counterpart for the Wizards, Wall, has averaged 23.7 points in three games against the Clippers - his best against any opponent.

Griffin, Foye help Clippers beat Wizards

Posted Feb 16 2012 2:17AM

LOS ANGELES (AP) On the day that Chauncey Billups underwent surgery in Colorado to repair a torn left Achilles that ended his season, Randy Foye demonstrated why the Los Angeles Clippers have the confidence to start him at shooting guard.

Foye scored all 10 of his points in the fourth quarter against his former team, leading the Clippers to a 102-84 victory over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night.

"Foye was outstanding, and we're going to need that from him," point guard Chris Paul said. "Tonight he hit some very timely 3s that gave us some separation. I've known him for years and I used to play against him when he was in Minnesota.

"Foye was one of those guys who used to give us fits because he's such a good player. I think at times, he's better than he thinks he is. He can handle the ball, he's big and strong and athletic, and he can shoot it. So we just need him to keep getting his confidence."

Blake Griffin had 23 points and 15 rebounds, Caron Butler added 21 points and the Clippers increased their lead in the Pacific Division to two games over the idle Lakers with their ninth victory in 12 contests. Paul had 16 points and nine assists.

Coming off a 96-92 loss at Dallas in which Foye 0 for 7 from the field, the Clippers took an eight-point lead into the fourth quarter before John Wall cut it to 75-72 on a 16-footer with 10:12 remaining. But Foye completely took during the next 3 1/2 minutes, after missing all four shots in 26 minutes over the first three quarters.

The six-year veteran, who spent the 2009-10 season with the Wizards before signing with the Clippers as a free agent in July 2010, started his one-man assault with a 3-pointer, then made two free throws and hustled after an offensive rebound to set up another 3 by Mo Williams. Foye made two more free throws and capped his run with a 3-pointer that made it 88-76 with 6:59 to play. From then on, it was no contest.

"Mo drove and then he found me on the left wing, and I just let it go," Foye said. "I didn't shoot too well in Dallas, and I was upset with myself. So I got here early and took some shots trying to get myself going. I didn't shoot too well early on, but once I hit a shot, I felt good."

The Clippers have beaten the Wizards seven consecutive times - including a double-overtime win last March at Staples Center in which Griffin had 33 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists in a career-high 51 1/2 minutes for his first NBA triple-double. The Clippers' longest winning streak against any club is 11 against Dallas from 1992-1994.

Wall and JaVale McGee led Washington with 18 points each. The Wizards, coming off their second straight road win after an 0-10 start, weren't able to sustain their momentum following Tuesday night's 124-109 victory at Portland.

"We did a great job managing the game, running pick(equals)-and-rolls and getting everyone involved," Wall said. "It's tough to play them because they can play defense, run and score."

Former USC guard Nick Young missed his first nine shots and finished 5 for 18 with 14 points after getting a season-high 35 against the Trail Blazers.

"We wanted to make him as uncomfortable as possible. That was the plan," Foye said. "You can't just let him stand out there and take target practice."

Young ended his field goal drought with a 3-pointer that trimmed the Clippers' lead to 56-55 with 7:19 left in the third quarter and made two more from behind the arc in a 1:19 span to put Washington back in front 60-58 with 5:57 left in the period.

"My teammates were encouraging me all night long, and I tried to get it going in the second half," Young said. "It was just one of those nights. We played hard and fought, but it was back-to-back games, and they made a push in the fourth quarter."

Rookie forward Jan Vesely threw down an uncontested dunk that gave the Wizards a 62-60 edge with 5:07 left in the third. But he returned to the bench 15 seconds later after picking up his fifth foul, and Griffin gave the Clippers the lead for good with a back-to-back dunks to make it 70-66. The first came after his offensive rebound of Foye's missed 3-pointer, the other off an alley-oop lob by Paul with 2:47 left in the quarter.

Notes: Howard Eisley, a player development assistant with the Clippers who sits right behind their bench during games, was fined $15,000 by the NBA on Wednesday for verbal abuse of an official. The incident took place at the end of the Monday's 96-92 loss at Dallas. "It was kind of unexpected, but the league felt it was warranted - and the rules are strict," coach Vinny Del Negro said. ... Paul received a technical foul with 1:59 left in the second quarter, the 32nd called against Clippers players and coaches this season. They have yet to have anyone ejected from a game with two, but Paul came close 39 seconds later after fouling Wall. ... The game featured the first overall pick in three drafts: Griffin (2009), Wall (2010) and Kenyon Martin (2000). Martin made his home debut with the Clippers, playing 23 minutes and getting four points and four rebounds in his fifth game with the club after signing as a free agent Feb. 3.

Notebook: Clippers 102, Wizards 84

Posted Thursday February 16, 2012 2:13AM

By Dan Arritt, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: All five starters scored in double figures Wednesday night as the Clippers picked up where they left off following a season-long six-game road trip, putting the Washington Wizards away in the fourth quarter of a 102-84 victory at Staples Center.

QUOTABLE: "To play in front of the home crowd and have that security was good. The road trip was good for us, it made us a little tougher."
-- Clippers forward Blake Griffin.

THE STAT: The Clippers improved to 18-9 on the season, their second-best start in franchise history. They started 18-8 in 1974-75, when they were known as the Buffalo Braves. That team was coached by future Hall of Famer Jack Ramsay and included that season's scoring champion, Bob McAdoo. The Braves eventually lost to the Washington Bullets in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

TURNING POINT: The Wizards scored six of the first seven points in the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to three points with 10:12 remaining. Clippers shooting guard Randy Foye then drained a 3-pointer and Washington backup guard Jordan Crawford missed a 19-footer on the other end. Foye then drew a foul on John Wall and made both free throws for an eight-point lead with 9:22 left and the Wizards never pulled back within six points.

HOT: Clippers forward Caron Butler continues to torch his former teams. After scoring a season-high 23 points Monday in Dallas, Butler shot 5-for-7 from 3-point territory and scored 21 points against Washington, where he played from 2006 until midway through the 2009-10 season, when he was traded to Dallas. Butler gave the Clippers a good start by scoring 11 points in the opening quarter. Foye, another ex-Wizard, scored all 10 of his points in the fourth quarter, when the Clippers outscored the Wizards, 28-18.

NOT: The Washington backcourt of Wall and Nick Young were a combined 9-for-31 from the floor. Young, who played at USC and Cleveland High School in nearby Reseda, started the game 0-for-8 before hitting three 3-pointers in the third quarter, helping the Wizards briefly retake the lead. Young finished with 14 points after scoring a season-high 35 the night before in Portland.

GOOD MOVE: Another key stretch of the game came in the final three minutes of the third quarter. The Wizards had tied the score one final time, 66-66, on a 3-point basket by Young. On the next trip down the floor, Foye missed a 3-pointer but Griffin grabbed the offensive rebound and slammed it through the hoop for a two-point lead. Chris Paul then poked the ball away from Wall, leading to a lob pass to Griffin, who soared high in the air to catch the pass and slam it in for a 70-66 lead. Griffin would score once more off an offensive rebound before the quarter ended, helping the Clippers to a 74-66 lead heading into the fourth. Griffin finished with a team-high 23 points and 15 rebounds.

QUOTABLE II: "We did a much better job in the second half with our ball movement, controlling our turnovers better and we did a really nice job on the glass."
-- Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro.

BAD MOVE: Wall received a technical foul in the second quarter for getting on the referee about a no-call on his drive to the basket and dish off to JaVale McGee. The strange part was McGee had made the basket to cut the deficit to three points with 3:08 left in the half.

NOTABLE: The Clippers owned a 58-52 edge on the boards, the seventh consecutive game they won the rebounding battle ... Paul's steal against Wall late in the third quarter extended his streak of games with at least one steal to 31, the longest active streak in the NBA ... McGee and Clippers center DeAndre Jordan came into the game as the only two players in the NBA averaging at least eight points, eight rebounds and 2.5 blocks. McGee finished with 18 points, five rebounds and two blocks, ending his streak of three consecutive double-doubles. Jordan had 11 points, nine rebounds and three blocks,

UP NEXT: For the Clippers, Thursday @ Portland, Saturday vs. San Antonio, Monday @ Golden State. For the Wizards, Friday @ Utah, Monday @ Phoenix, Wednesday vs. Sacramento.

• Wizards: Turiaf
• Clippers: Billups

• Wizards: Wall
• Clippers: Paul

• Lead Changes: 8
• Times Tied: 9

• Arena: Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
• Officials: #10 Ron Garretson, #47 Bennie Adams, #61 Courtney Kirkland
• Attendance: 19135
• Duration: 2:20