Clippers-Bobcats Preview

By JEFF BARTL
Posted Dec 12 2012 2:28AM

The Los Angeles Clippers' latest surge is their best in more than two decades, and there's little reason to believe the woeful Charlotte Bobcats will slow them down.

Los Angeles looks to match its franchise-record eight-game winning streak Wednesday night while dealing host Charlotte a ninth consecutive defeat.

The Clippers (15-6) have followed up a four-game skid from Nov. 21-26 with seven straight victories, including a 94-89 win over Chicago on Tuesday to begin a four-game road trip.

Blake Griffin scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while Chris Paul added 18 points for Los Angeles, which last won a team-record eight in a row from Nov. 30-Dec. 15, 1991.

"Games on the road like this, after we had a little bit of success, six games, coming on the road, you don't want to have a letdown," Griffin said. "These are the kinds of wins you need."

The Clippers, who play at Milwaukee on Saturday and end their trip Monday at Detroit, have held opponents to an average of 91.6 points during their streak.

"We knew we were on the road and we'd have to withstand a run we knew they would make. Our defense kept us in the game," Paul said.

"We want our identity to be a defensive identity. We're still trying to build that."

Paul, who grew up relatively close to Charlotte in Winston-Salem and played two seasons at Wake Forest, looks to help guide Los Angeles to its fourth straight victory over a Bobcats team that hasn't won since it matched last season's win total Nov. 24.

Charlotte (7-13) fell 104-96 at home to Golden State on Monday. Kemba Walker scored 24 points and rookie Michael Kidd-Gilchrist added 17 for the Bobcats, who were behind by as many as 21 to the Warriors before making a fourth-quarter run.

"We've got to play that way from the start," said Walker, who scored 17 points in the second half. "That's it. We waited too long to play that way. I take full responsibility. I've got to set the tone early and I didn't do that."

Coach Mike Dunlap's team has been terribly inconsistent during its slump, suffering defeats by 45 points at Oklahoma City on Nov. 26 and 30 to San Antonio on Saturday while also losing at the buzzer to New York among a few narrow defeats.

"What the team has got to understand is it's a four-quarter game and it's two-and-a-half event," Dunlap said. "While frustrating, the education continues for us."

After Charlotte committed a season-worst 18 turnovers, owner Michael Jordan joined Tuesday's practice to try and give pointers to his young squad. He played one-on-one with Kidd-Gilchrist and Gerald Henderson and worked on post moves with center Bismack Biyombo.

"He cares a lot," Henderson told the team's official website. "It's an important thing for him. Us as players, we care a lot, but to see somebody from management come down, be around and have a voice is a special thing."

Griffin scored 21 points and added 10 rebounds while Paul finished with 18 points and 14 assists in Los Angeles' 111-86 road victory in the most recent matchup Feb. 11.

Paul helps lift Clippers past Bobcats 100-94

By STEVE REED
Posted Dec 12 2012 11:22PM

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) Chris Paul isn't sure when the Los Angeles Clippers will lose again.

For now he's not going to think about and just enjoy the ride.

Paul had 19 points and 10 assists as the Clippers defeated the Charlotte Bobcats 100-94 Wednesday night for their eighth straight win, their longest streak in 21 seasons.

"It's cool," Paul said. "It just means we're playing all right now. But we're not satisfied. We have to keep playing the right way and keep this thing going. Sometimes you're going to win and play bad and sometimes you're going to play well and lose. For us it's all about being consistent."

Blake Griffin and Matt Barnes also scored 19 points in a balanced scoring attack for the Clippers, who maintained sole possession of first place in the Pacific Division.

It was by no means a thing of beauty as the Clippers struggled to put the Bobcats away one night after a tough win in Chicago.

"It was kind of one of those grind-it-out games," Griffin said. "But those are the type of games you have to win if you're going to be a great team."

Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said his team certainly didn't play its best game by any stretch, but left thrilled to extend the win streak - Los Angeles' longest since an eight-game run during the 1991-92 season.

"I think it's a good sign for us that we're finding ways to win," Del Negro said. "Everyone is contributing, locking really hard when we need to and making sure we're consistent on some things. We just got to get a little sharper.

"You know we missed a lot of easy shots tonight, a lot of layups, a lot of floaters, a lot of fast breaks - things we usually convert. But we battled. We got stops at the end and that is what counts."

Byron Mullens had 19 points and eight rebounds and Kemba Walker chipped in with 17 points to lead the Bobcats, who have lost nine straight since starting the season 7-5.

Charlotte trailed 78-71 entering the fourth quarter and got as close as three before Barnes scored on a fast break dunk off an alley-oop pass from Jamal Crawford. Barnes followed up by knocking down a 3-pointer from the corner on the next possession to push the lead back to eight.

Charlotte could never make another serious run at the lead getting no closer than five due in large part to shooting just 32 percent from the field in the final period. The Bobcats also turned it over three times in the fourth, leading to seven points for the Clippers.

Coach Mike Dunlap said his team is understandably "frustrated" but believes it will keep improving as they gain more experience.

"Offensively we had some turnovers and that's our Achilles," said Dunlap, in his first year with the Bobcats. "We've got to learn how to be down three or five (points) and execute in those situations."

Added Bobcats guard Gerald Henderson: "A couple of times we were close right in there. We either couldn't get a stop or got a little stagnant on offense and couldn't make a shot. But, that's the kind of basketball we kind of need to play, is scrappy, and get after it and just fight. I mean, that's a tough team. That's a really tough team."

Paul struggled from the field hitting just 5 of 13 shots, but had a big 3 in the fourth to essentially put the game away.

Griffin had some magnificent dunks early on, including a baseline move to get by Bismack Biyombo before curling up on the other side of the rim, elevating and slamming it home hard.

Griffin also did it on the defensive end.

When Mullens tried to dunk over Griffin, the Clippers' star deflected the ball and it got wedged between rim and the backboard resulting in a jump ball at midcourt.

With his former coach at Kentucky, John Calipari, sitting courtside, Bobcats rookie Michael Kidd-Gilchrist looked sharp in the early going and finished with 11 points and eight rebounds for the Bobcats. Kidd-Gilchrist attacked the rim strong, but his awkward-looking jump shot continues to be an issue that'll need to be addressed.

Calipari said Kidd-Gilchrist will be an "unbelievable player" at the NBA level when he gets a few years under his belt.

"He's going to get better and better and better because he works," Calipari said. "The motor that he has and the toughness and the will to win, that's something you can't invent or fake."

The Clippers took a 49-44 lead at the break with 34 points coming inside the paint and 10 of those off fast breaks. The Bobcats, meanwhile, didn't score at all in transition in the first half.

NOTES: North Carolina Tar Heels football coach Larry Fedora was attended the game. ... Walker came in averaging 22 points in his last five games and has scored in double digits in all but one of his 21 games. ... Bismack Biyombo has had at least eight rebounds in five straight games. ... It was Paul's ninth double-double of the season. .. The Clippers had a season-high-tying 17 offensive rebounds.

Notebook: Clippers 100, Bobcats 94

Derek Smith, for NBA.com
Posted Wed Dec 12, 2012 11:03 PM - Updated Wed Dec 12, 2012 11:03 PM

THE FACTS: Matt Barnes scored 11 of his game-high 19 points in the fourth quarter as the Los Angeles Clippers held off a pesky Charlotte Bobcats squad 100-94 Wednesday night at Time Warner Cable Arena. Chris Paul and Blake Griffin each added 19 points as well for the Clippers while Byron Mullens was the Bobcats leading scorer also with 19 points. The Clippers have now extended their winning streak to eight games which ties their longest mark since moving to California and the Bobcats are now losers of nine straight.

QUOTABLE: "We can't make any excuses. It took us a little while to get going, but we pulled it out. We just play hard out there. We have so many offensive weapons sometimes that people forget about the other choices like me or (Lamar Odom). We just have to find the right spot and know that our guards will find us."
- Clippers forward Matt Barnes

THE STAT: The Clippers took advantage of two areas and exploited the Bobcats. Los Angeles turned 13 Charlotte turnovers into 24 points which was a 16-point advantage in that category. They also had assists on 26 of 37 field goals on the night compared to just 18 on 35 field goals for the Bobcats.

TURNING POINT: The Clippers held the Bobcats to just a pair free throws over a five-minute span to finally pull away and seal the victory in the fourth quarter. Charlotte made a basket to pull within five points with 10:31 to play and didn't make another field goal until the 5:02 mark and was outscored 7-2. During the stretch the Bobcats missed 11 shots and had two turnovers.

HOT: Barnes was the difference in the fourth quarter for LA. He scored 11 points in the quarter and was 4-of-6 from the floor including draining 3 from behind the arc. The Clippers are now 10-1 when Barnes scores in double figures and 10-0 when coming off the bench to do so.

NOT: Blake Griffin was a liability at the free throw line for the Clippers. He made just one of his five attempts against Charlotte. During the team's eight-game winning streak Griffin has made just 57.1 percent (20-of-35) while averaging 20.6 points.

INSIDE THE ARENA: University of Kentucky head coach John Calipari was in attendance to support two of his former players Eric Bledsoe and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Also in attendance was Larry Fedora, head football coach at the University of North Carolina.

ROOKIE WATCH: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had another strong performance for the Bobcats. He finished the night with 11 points, eight rebounds, two assists and one blocked shot. He's scored in double-figures in four of the last five games.

NOTABLE: Kemba Walker has scored in double figures in 20 of 21 games this season. Gerald Henderson came off the bench to score in double figures for the fourth time in the last five games. Bismack Biyombo has grabbed at least eight rebounds for the fifth consecutive game and added a career-high tying two steals. The Clippers are 13-0 this season when leading after three quarters. LA matched its record for consecutive wins as the Clippers tonight at eight games equaling the 1991-92 squad. The team, when known as the Buffalo Braves, won 11 consecutive games during the 1974-75 season. They are also off to their best start after 22 games at 16-6. The 19 points by Barnes ties his season-high. Bledsoe tied a career high with eight rebounds. Paul had his ninth double-double of the season and his 20th double-figure scoring game. Jamal Crawford recorded a season-high eight assists.

UP NEXT: For the Clippers, Saturday @ Milwaukee, Monday @ Detroit, Wednesday vs. New Orleans. For the Bobcats, Thursday @ Atlanta, Saturday vs. Orlando, Tuesday @ Lakers.

• Clippers: Billups, Hill, Thompkins
• Bobcats: Thomas

• Clippers: Crawford
• Bobcats: --

• Lead Changes: 2
• Times Tied: 1

• Arena: Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte, NC
• Officials: #15 Bennett Salvatore, #6 Tony Brown, #26 Pat Fraher
• Attendance: 16786
• Duration: 2:13