Clippers-Magic Preview

By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Feb 05 2013 3:44PM

Already without Chris Paul, the slumping Los Angeles Clippers could be in for an even rougher road ahead with Blake Griffin hurt, too.

They aren't likely to get much sympathy from the injury-plagued Orlando Magic.

With Griffin uncertain to be available for a second straight game, the visiting Clippers try to get back on track Wednesday night against a Magic team that's dropped 21 of 23.

One of the two wins, however, came at Los Angeles on Jan. 12. That 104-101 victory was the Magic's 10th in the last 11 matchups.

That defeat ultimately proved plenty costly for the Clippers (34-16), who lost Paul to a bruised right kneecap with 54 seconds remaining. While Paul returned following a three-game absence, he re-aggravated the injury in a 106-99 loss at Golden State on Jan. 21 and hasn't played since.

Los Angeles, which including that defeat has dropped seven of nine, suffered another big blow Monday when Griffin was a last-minute scratch due to a strained left hamstring. The three-time all-Star, averaging team highs of 18.5 points and 8.6 rebounds, had his streak of 197 consecutive games played end as the Clippers lost 98-90 at Washington.

"It's frustrating because we're giving back a lot of what we had built up earlier in the season," said coach Vinny Del Negro, whose team is halfway through a season-high eight-game road trip. "But you can't control the injuries, you can't control the schedule, you can't control so many guys being out."

Jamal Crawford scored 28 points off the bench Monday and DeAndre Jordan had a career-high 22 rebounds, but Los Angeles committed 20 turnovers to the Wizards' 13.

"When you're a championship-level team, you have high expectations," Crawford said. "And we do, no matter who's in and who's out. Obviously we're missing some of our better players, but no excuse."

Orlando (14-34) can surely relate to what Los Angeles is going through.

The Magic's top four scorers - Arron Afflalo (strained calf), J.J. Redick (sore shoulder), Glen Davis (broken foot) and Jameer Nelson (bruised forearm) - were all out Monday as the team's skid reached 10 with a 78-61 loss at Philadelphia.

E'Twaun Moore scored a season high-tying 18 points, but Orlando had its fewest points and lowest shooting percentage (33.8) of the season. Nikola Vucevic grabbed 14 rebounds - he's averaging a league-leading 13.3 since Dec. 14 - but had his streak of consecutive games scoring in double figures snapped at 17.

"It's just tough right now because our main scorers and our veteran guys are out right now," Vucevic told the team's official website. "But we're a tough group and we're going to play hard every night no matter what. We haven't been winning a lot of games, but we're playing hard and competing every night. We did that again (Monday) and hopefully we'll start getting some wins soon."

While Davis isn't expected back anytime soon, Afflalo, Nelson and Redick are all uncertain to be available Tuesday.

"The more (players) we can get back and the healthier that we can get, the better it obviously it is for us," coach Jacque Vaughn said. "We just have to be careful of putting too much pressure on guys coming back."

Afflalo posted a season best-tying 30 points and Redick added 21 off the bench against the Clippers last month. Griffin also scored 30 in that game.

The Magic, on their second 10-game losing streak of the season, haven't dropped 11 in a row since a 13-game skid March 13-April 10, 2004.

Clippers end losing skid with 86-76 win over Magic

By KYLE HIGHTOWER
Posted Feb 06 2013 11:23PM

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) The Los Angeles Clippers know what it's like to take the floor without key players.

A matchup with the equally hobbled Orlando Magic helped them rediscover what winning feels like.

Eric Bledsoe had a career-high 27 points, including 19 in the second half, and the Los Angeles Clippers used a big third quarter to secure an 86-76 win over the Magic on Wednesday night.

The victory ended a three-game losing streak for Los Angeles, which has three games remaining on its eight-game road trip.

"We were in a little slump," Bledsoe said. "We were in the games, playing good, playing tough, but we just couldn't finish the game. ... So it was a huge win for us."

The Clippers won despite playing without their three top scorers in All-Stars Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, and Jamal Crawford. Paul remains sidelined with a bruised right kneecap and Griffin sat with a strained hamstring. Crawford was out with a sore right shoulder.

"The Magic came into our house and beat us and we pretty much had everybody," Clippers forward Grant Hill said. "I think the fact that we've lost some games, and lost some confidence, and maybe lost the formula of how to win - you forget sometimes.

"We know the Magic were undermanned. We didn't play great, but we did what we had to do."

Jameer Nelson scored 18 points to lead the Magic and Nikola Vucevic added 15 points and 13 rebounds.

Orlando snapped its previous 10-game skid against the Clippers on Jan. 12. The Magic head to Cleveland on Friday with their longest losing streak of the season.

Nelson returned to the lineup after missing two games with a bruised forearm and scored 18 points in the first half. But he was held scoreless over the final 24 minutes (0 for 5 from the field) as the Magic struggled to find another source of offense.

"For the most part we know that he's the only person on their team who can get them going," Bledsoe said. "I just tried to make it hard for him to get the ball."

The Magic, who also have also not been strangers themselves to taking the floor with several missing pieces, lost their 11th consecutive game and have now dropped 22 of their last 24.

Orlando played without starters Arron Afflalo (strained calf) and J.J. Redick (sore right shoulder), who missed their sixth and second straight games, respectively. Starting forward Glen Davis is out at least eight weeks after having surgery on his broken left foot.

Forced to play undersized, the Magic struggled mightily from the field for the second consecutive game and continued rack up turnovers. Despite giving up 13 points and 14 rebounds to DeAndre Jordan, Orlando held a 44-36 edge on points in the paint for the game.

But that was negated by the 18 points the Magic gave up via their 18 turnovers.

"I think the thing that really killed us tonight was when we got stops and they got those offensive rebounds and loose balls," Nelson said. "That kind of deflates you a little bit. It's just something that we always talk about, but tonight we just didn't come up with enough of them."

Los Angeles trailed at the break, but outscored the Magic 24-13 in the third quarter and took a nine-point lead into the fourth.

Orlando cut the lead to as few as seven before a 3-pointer by Lamar Odom pushed the Clippers' advantage back to 81-71 with just over two minutes left in the game to help secure the win.

"When you're working with different combinations, asking guys to do more than we've asked them in the past, it's a tough adjustment to do that on a game-to-game basis," Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said. "So we're going to have to deal with it and learn from it, and get better."

The Magic led 42-40 at the half, but nothing came seamlessly on the offensive end for either team.

The play was sloppy in several stretches, with the Clippers and Magic combining for 19 first-half turnovers.

Orlando shot just 36 percent (16 for 44) from the field, with Los Angeles just slightly better at 42 percent (16 for 38).

The only hot hand belonged to Nelson, who was able to break into the lane for several layups.

Meanwhile, the Clippers seemed lost at times defensively, giving up 22 points in the paint.

"We've got to put ourselves in position. We feel like we've given a couple of games away," Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said. "Hopefully we learned something a little bit tonight, but every game is different."

Notes: Matt Barnes received his 10th technical of the season with 8:37 left in the second quarter. ... The Clippers improved to 6-6 without Paul this season. ... This was the second consecutive game that the Magic shot under 35 percent.

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Follow Kyle Hightower on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/khightower

Notebook: Clippers 85, Magic 76

Dick Scanlon, for NBA.com
Posted Wed Feb 06, 2013 11:01 PM - Updated Wed Feb 06, 2013 11:01 PM

THE FACTS: Eric Bledsoe, starting in place of injured All-Star Chris Paul, scored 19 of his career-high 27 points in the second half to lead the injury-riddled Los Angeles Clippers to an 85-76 victory over the Orlando Magic in a game in which both teams were missing their top three scorers.

Playing without Paul, Blake Griffin and Jamal Crawford, the Clippers survived a sluggish first half to win for only the third time in their last 10 games.

Jameer Nelson led the Magic with 18 points, all in the first half, as they lost their 11th straight and 22nd of their last 24.

The Magic played without Arron Afflalo, J.J. Redick and Glen Davis.

QUOTABLE: "I'm not sure I've been a part of one of those before, but I don't think either one of us (coaches) was feeling sorry for each other."
-- Magic coach Jacque Vaughn

THE STAT: After committing 20 turnovers in each of their last two games and 11 in the first half, the Clippers turned the ball over only three times in the second half.

QUOTABLE II: "We got away from them a little in the second half just because we were able to control the ball a little bit more and not give them anything easy."
-- Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro

TURNING POINT: Bledsoe and Caron Butler scored five points each on a 16-2 run early in the second half that left the Clippers in command for the rest of the game.

HOT: In a span of two minutes late in the first quarter, Clippers center DeAndre Jordan had three thundering dunks.

NOT: Four starters combined on 18-for-63 shooting and the Magic shot below 35 percent overall for the second straight game.

GOOD MOVE: The Clippers directed the ball away from Nelson in the second half.

QUOTABLE III: "For the most part, we knew that (Nelson) is the only person on their team who can get them going. I just tried to make it hard for him to get the ball."
-- Bledsoe

IN THE ARENA: Chris Leak, who quarterbacked the University of Florida to a BCS national championship in 2006, completed a pass to Stuff, the Magic Dragon, during a timeout.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Bledsoe had six steals (for the third time this season) and six rebounds.

ROOKIE WATCH: Maurice Harkless and Andrew Nicholson, the Magic's first-round draftees, started together for only the second time. (Harkless came in a trade from Philadelphia). ...Second-round pick Kyle O'Quinn had 10 points, nine rebounds and three assists in 19 minutes.

NOTABLE: Crawford, who scored 28 Monday night at Washington, was a late scratch due to a shoulder injury. .... The Clippers were plus-24 during Bledsoe's 41 minutes. ... The 11-game losing streak is the Magic's longest since 2004.

UP NEXT: For the Clippers: Friday @ Miami, Sunday @ New York, Monday @ Philadelphia. For the Magic: Friday @ Cleveland, Sunday vs. Portland, Wednesday vs. Atlanta.

• Clippers: Billups, Thompkins
• Magic: Afflalo, Harrington

• Clippers: Barnes
• Magic: --

• Lead Changes: 5
• Times Tied: 4

• Arena: Amway Center, Orlando, FL
• Officials: #43 Dan Crawford, #42 Eric Lewis, #75 Eric Dalen
• Attendance: 17995
• Duration: 2:06