Hornets-Clippers Preview

By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO
Posted Dec 19 2012 2:42AM

The Los Angeles Clippers haven't lost since hosting the New Orleans Hornets over three weeks ago.

Beating them this time at Staples Center would match the longest winning streak in franchise history.

Blake Griffin looks for a much better performance this time against the Hornets as the Clippers go for an 11th straight win Wednesday night.

Griffin had the worst game of his career and fouled out of a 105-98 loss to New Orleans (5-19) on Nov. 26. He finished with a career-low four points on 1 of 9 from the floor while grabbing six rebounds with four turnovers.

Griffin had been averaging 21.4 points and 11.8 rebounds while connecting on 54.9 percent from the field over the previous five meetings.

The star forward, however, is one of the reasons the Clippers (18-6) haven't lost since that matchup.

Los Angeles has reeled off 10 wins in a row, one shy of the team record set from Nov. 3-23, 1974, when they were the Buffalo Braves.

The team is averaging 104.6 points during the current streak, with four players scoring over 12.0 per game. Griffin leads the way at 19.8.

Griffin and Jamal Crawford led five players in double figures with 15 points apiece in an 88-76 victory at Detroit on Monday. It was the second time in three games that Los Angeles shot under 45.0 percent and won.

"We didn't shoot very well, and we didn't do a lot of things we wanted to do," coach Vinny Del Negro said. "We just had a lot of guys make plays down the stretch and we get to go home with another win. Early in the season, we probably lose that game, but now we've gotten to the point where we can win ugly."

Another strong performance from Chris Paul against his former team may make things easier on the Clippers. He's averaging 23.5 points and 10.0 assists in four games versus the Hornets since they traded him to the Clippers for three players and a first-round pick last December.

Paul had 20 points, eight assists and four steals against them last month.

While Los Angeles has surged to the top of the Pacific Division since that meeting, New Orleans is in a 1-10 tailspin, including a season-high eight-game slide that has dropped it to bottom of the Western Conference.

The Hornets lost nine in a row from Jan. 11-25.

If the Clippers can get past struggling New Orleans, they'll have a chance to break the record winning streak Friday against Sacramento, the last-place team in the Pacific.

Before that, the Hornets will try to spoil any celebrations, and Ryan Anderson will likely play a key role in that.

The forward leads New Orleans with 19.0 points per game, but he's produced 24.7 over the past three games after scoring 28 off the bench Tuesday.

Anderson had 17 points and eight rebounds against the Clippers on Nov. 26.

Greivis Vasquez had a career high-tying 25 points and 10 assists in that meeting, and has totaled 43 and 22 over the first two of this four-game road trip, which ends in San Antonio on Friday.

Clippers beat Hornets 93-77 for 11th straight win

By BETH HARRIS
Posted Dec 20 2012 2:14AM

LOS ANGELES (AP) The Los Angeles Clippers' franchise record-tying 11th consecutive victory had owner Donald Sterling leading a "hip, hip hooray" chant in the locker room.

Sterling grabbed the hand of coach Vinny Del Negro and held it up, exhorting his team, "Let's hear it for the coach." Then he told Del Negro, "Vinny, give me a hug" and the two men embraced.

"Eleven in a row. Not bad, is it?" Sterling said.

Blake Griffin scored 18 points and Jamal Crawford added 17 in the Clippers' 93-77 win over the New Orleans Hornets on Wednesday night that tied the franchise mark set by the 1974-75 Buffalo Braves.

"That's pretty special, especially to do it at home," said Chris Paul, who had 10 points and 12 assists, giving him 5,003 in his career.

"The food tastes better, the music sounds better, you sleep a little better," Paul said. "Everything seems better when you're winning."

DeAndre Jordan added 12 points for the Clippers, whose 19-6 record is tied with New York for second-best in the NBA.

Robin Lopez scored 14 of his 22 points in the first quarter and rookie Anthony Davis added 16 for the Hornets. They lost their ninth in a row and 11th in 12 games while falling to 2-10 on the road. They were the last team to beat the Clippers on Nov. 26.

"We knew they were going to come out with a lot of energy. They made shots that they didn't make the last time we played them, and they got a lot of easy buckets," Davis said. "They've got a great team. They're all capable of scoring the ball, from the starters to the bench."

Four of the Clippers' five starters took the fourth quarter off, with only Willie Green coming back in after having helped build a 19-point lead to start the final period. But the Hornets couldn't get anything going against the second unit that has played a significant role in the Clippers' current run.

"We've been getting off to good starts and not putting so much pressure on our bench," Paul said.

The Hornets staged a brief rally to open the third. Davis scored five in a row in their 12-9 run that drew them within seven. The Clippers took over from there, outscoring New Orleans 18-6 to end the third leading 75-56. They made 8 of 10 free throws, while Paul's fast-break dunk highlighted the spurt. Griffin grabbed his teammate as Paul swung wildly from the basket.

"Oh, did I dunk tonight?"' said Paul, the least likely to dunk on a Clippers team nicknamed "Lob City."

Blake drew laughs when he said, "You saw I had to help him down."

"They really feed off their fast break," Ryan Anderson said. "They're a team that runs, and when they get turnovers they break out and find open guys at the other end. They did that the whole second half and they took advantage of our mistakes."

Paul fed Griffin for a layup late in the second quarter to notch his 5,000th assist, triggering a standing ovation. Griffin got fouled on the play and made the free throw. It came during an 11-0 run that provided the Clippers' largest lead to that point, 46-30. Paul's alley-oop pass to Griffin led to a fast-break dunk for the Clippers' final basket of the half, with them leading 48-38.

"I didn't know what everyone was cheering for," Paul said.

Griffin said, "It's cool to be part of that. It's definitely not the last. I'm looking forward to 10,000."

The Hornets kept it close in the opening quarter, when they trailed 22-16 after Lopez scored 14 points. He was scoreless in the second quarter when he picked up his third foul.

NOTES: Del Negro said Jordan turned his ankle during the game. ... At 27 years, 228 days, Paul is the third-youngest player in NBA history to reach 5,000 assists, trailing Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas. He is the fifth-fastest to reach the milestone, needing 510 games. ... New Orleans hasn't won since Dec. 3 against Milwaukee. ... Hornets G Eric Gordon missed the game against his former team because of a sore right knee. He smiled when Clippers fans chanted his name in the final 2 1/2 minutes. ... Returning home from a four-game trip, the Clippers had a moment of silence for the victims of last week's school shootings in Connecticut.

Notebook: Clippers 93, Hornets 77

Dan Arritt, for NBA.com
Posted Thu Dec 20, 2012 1:50 AM - Updated Thu Dec 20, 2012 1:50 AM

THE FACTS: The Clippers had plenty of motivation Wednesday night against the visiting Hornets. Not only was L.A. trying to match its franchise record by winning its 11th straight game, but the Clippers were eager to beat the last team that defeated them. They accomplished both with another one-sided display of fast break and above-the-rim play, allowing them to pull away from New Orleans in the second half and win, 93-77, at Staples Center.

THE STAT: Clippers point guard Chris Paul finished with 10 points and 12 assists, becoming the third-youngest player in NBA history to reach 5,000 assists. The players ahead of him on that list are Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas, both Hall of Famers.

QUOTABLE: "The food tastes better, the music sounds better. ...everything is a little bit better when you're winning."
-- Chris Paul

TURNING POINT: Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro called timeout after the Hornets scored seven unanswered points early in the third quarter to pull within five. The players apparently got the message as they outscored New Orleans, 13-3, over the next five minutes and the Hornets never climbed back within single digits.

HOT: Clippers forward Matt Barnes has been somewhat overshadowed this season by fellow bench players Jamal Crawford, Eric Bledsoe and even Lamar Odom, but he's quietly stringing together one of the best seasons in his 10-year career. He scored 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting against the Hornets, the fifth straight game he has finished in double figures and the ninth time in the last 11 games he has reached that mark. The Clippers are 13-0 this season when Barnes scores in double digits while coming off the bench.

NOT: New Orleans reserve forward Ryan Anderson entered the game on pace to break the NBA single-season record for 3-pointers, which was set by Ray Allen during the 2005-06 season (269). Anderson hit a speed bump in that pursuit against the Clippers, missing all eight attempts from 3-point range, the first time since last April that he has gone without a 3-pointer.

GOOD MOVE: Paul jokingly gave teammate Blake Griffin a hard time when he didn't throw him a lob pass late in a one-sided victory Monday in Detroit, instead dunking the ball himself. Paul got a rare chance to show what he could do during a third-quarter fast break, rising up for a two-handed dunk and then hanging on the rim for good measure. The dunk capped the decisive 13-3 run.

QUOTABLE II: "You saw how I had to help him down→"
-- Blake Griffin on Paul's dunk.

BAD MOVE: Hornets forward Al-Farouq Aminu, who came to New Orleans as part of the trade for Paul, was the only available player for the Hornets who did not play. Aminu has steadily slid deeper into the doghouse of coach Monty Williams, and the recent acquisition of Dominic McGuire has dropped Aminu further down the depth chart. McGuire didn't do much to maintain that edge, however, missing all three of his field-goal attempts and going scoreless in 19 minutes.

NOTABLE: The last time the Clippers and Hornets played, they combined to make 33-for-62 from 3-point range, the most 3-pointers made in regulation in NBA history. They combined to shoot 6-for-39 on Wednesday. The two by New Orleans were a season low. ... Over the previous 10 games, the Clippers averaged 11 turnovers, second-fewest in the NBA during that span. They committed 12 against the Hornets. ... The Hornets did not have a fast-break point until scoring two in the third quarter. They finished with four.

UP NEXT: For the Clippers, Friday vs. Sacramento, Sunday @ Phoenix, Tuesday vs. Denver. For the Hornets, Friday @ San Antonio, Saturday vs. Indiana, Wednesday @ Orlando.

• Hornets: Gordon, Smith
• Clippers: Billups, Hill, Thompkins

• Hornets: --
• Clippers: Barnes

• Lead Changes: 1
• Times Tied: 1

• Arena: Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
• Officials: #25 Tony Brothers, #20 Leroy Richardson, #54 Nick Buchert
• Attendance: 19188
• Duration: 2:09