Lakers hold off Clippers in city rivalry game

By GREG BEACHAM

LOS ANGELES (AP) Kobe Bryant scored 12 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter, Pau Gasol had 23 points and 10 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers rallied from a fourth-quarter deficit for a 96-91 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night in another testy edition of their cross-hallway rivalry.

Andrew Bynum scored 19 points to help the Lakers snapped their three-game skid with their first win of the season over their fellow Staples Center tenants. The Clippers beat the Lakers twice in the preseason and again earlier this month, staking an early claim to L.A. superiority with their revamped lineup.

The Lakers aren't ready to cede the city just yet - and they were willing to fight for it. The clubs combined for six technical fouls, and the Lakers' Josh McRoberts was ejected.

Blake Griffin had 26 points and nine rebounds, and Caron Butler and Mo Williams added 16 points apiece for the Clippers, who led for nearly every possession of the first 3 1/2 quarters. Chris Paul had four points and 12 assists for the Clippers in his return from a five-game absence because of a strained left hamstring.

After trailing for all but the opening basket, Bryant put the Lakers in front with six points during an 11-4 run capped by Metta World Peace's 3-pointer with 3:30 to play. The Lakers nursed the lead into the final minute, when Bynum made a lyaup and blocked DeAndre Jordan's shot in the paint on consecutive possessions, essentially sealing the Lakers' ninth straight "home" victory in the building shared by these clubs.

The Lakers have won 10 of their last 11 home games since Christmas, and the Clippers still haven't beaten the Lakers twice in a row since the 2006-07 season. The Lakers still failed to score 100 points for the 12th straight game, matching their longest low-scoring stretch since early 2004.

Paul hadn't played since the Clippers' home victory over the Lakers 11 days ago, but his teammates stayed in first place in the Pacific Division during his absence. Coach Vinny Del Negro appeared to be limiting Paul's minutes slightly, perhaps with an eye to the Clippers' five games in the next eight days.

Butler scored the Clippers' first 11 points, hitting three 3-pointers as they jumped to an early 10-point lead to the delight of their small fan contingent. The Clippers stayed narrowly ahead with 12 first-half points from Griffin, who landed his nightly jaw-dropping dunk when he drove past Gasol on the perimeter and floated past Bynum for a double-clutch jam.

Later, Griffin made a nimble reverse hook shot and a flying rebound putback dunk within a minute of each other.

The Lakers got unlikely offensive help from Andrew Goudelock, the rookie from College of Charleston who had scored just 10 points all season before matching that total midway through the second quarter against the Clippers. Goudelock hit two 3-pointers and didn't miss a shot until the third quarter.

The testiness and bad tempers that infiltrated this rivalry last year also resurfaced when Griffin and World Peace went down in a heap as they chased a loose ball at midcourt in the third quarter. Both teams surrounded the tangle of limbs and exchanged minor contact, but officials only ruled a jump ball.

Bryant committed six turnovers in the third quarter as the Clippers maintained their lead, and Mo Williams added the tension with a flagrant foul on Goudelock during a fast break early in the fourth. The officials attempted to keep peace with technical fouls - including two quick ones to McRoberts, who was ejected with 9:35 to play after two exchanges with the Clippers' Reggie Evans.

Chauncey Billups committed a technical foul during the Lakers' run to an 87-82 lead on World Peace's sixth 3-pointer in 38 tries during his dismal offensive season.

NOTES: Before the game, the Lakers sent second-year forward Derrick Caracter to Bakersfield of the D-League as he continues his rehabilitation from a torn meniscus in his left knee. ... Fans near courtside included David Beckham, Aziz Ansari, Jerry Bruckheimer, Mark McGrath and director McG.

POSTGAME QUOTES



Mike Brown:

On tonights loss:

“This game was real simple, we’ve got to give Indiana credit because they out worked us. They out worked us as a team and it’s too bad because we came out and we played great defense in the first quarter, and then the last three quarters we didn’t play with a sense of urgency. It was almost like when we got up 12 or 13 in the first quarter, we thought Indiana would fold to a certain degree and we just kind of went through the motions. And to give up a 35 point second quarter and a 28 point third quarter, it’s not who we are. That part was disappointing to see, there was no sense of urgency defensively. It was like we were ok trading baskets with them. We haven’t been like that in a while and that’s what makes this game, more than any other game, tough to swallow because of our demeanor on the defensive floor. And then you talk about 50/50 balls, long rebounds, loose balls, Indiana got most of them…This game was tough to swallow from the standpoint that defensively there was just no sense of urgency after we got up 14 in the first quarter. And it’s too bad because offensively I thought we did some nice things. We’re going to get better at that end of the floor, but we showed some improvement from our last few games.”

“I was going to, but Kobe had the ball in the open court and I didn’t want their defense to get set. I started to call one, and then I pulled back. Obviously, hindsight I should have called it whether Kobe had the ball or not. They did a heck of a job getting the stop. But, it came down to me looking and seeing Kobe with the ball in the open floor against a defense that wasn’t set.”

“It’s good for us to get a win. I think we did a lot of positive things tonight. We played with great effort and great physicality. Everybody played with the right attitude and guys did what they do best.”

“Defensively, we were extremely poor outside of the first quarter where we held them to 14 points. After that, we opened the floodgates and just let them score at will and then you compound that with the fact that we’re having a tough time scoring.”

“The guy shoots a 360 jump-hook. You have to enjoy and admire his stuff because it’s pretty sensational stuff.”

“We played a good game, we beat the Clippers. I don’t think it’s that big of a game, but we need to get some momentum for the road. I think we still only have one road win, so we’re going to contest it this trip, and we need to do way better than .500.”

“Yeah, we went everywhere. Metta came out and he did a great job for us, he moved the ball, participated on offense, and then obviously was physical on defense…We were being aggressive. I could be a little more efficient with my touches, I missed a couple of easy ones. Pau came out and played the style of basketball he’s capable of doing night in and night out. And, we just were very aggressive and dominated.”

“I feel pretty good. But, one thing they tell me is to not get too high or get too low, so I want to try to build from this. I think I did pretty well, I’m going to have something I can think about and something I can use going forward as I try to make my way on this team. But, I feel good with my performance, I was really aggressive and luckily we got the win, which is the biggest thing.”

“It feels pretty good. Just to play for the Lakers is a big honor for anybody. And for me, to just be on this team with all these great guys is a privilege for me. With that being said, no basketball player is satisfied with sitting on the bench and not being able to contribute, especially when you’ve been playing basketball as a focal point for your whole life. So, you know, I’m feeling ok right now.”

“It wasn’t like we were going to run more sets for me. Just play hard and things will come. We do our job, they do their job, and at the end it all came together. We want it to continue to be that way.”

“A frustrating loss but it was good to get Chris [Paul] out there. I thought we made them earn it at the end. We didn’t execute, we gave up too many offensive rebounds after them, then we had a foul to give them some points off the free throw line but we didn’t do a good job getting defensive rebounds and we didn’t execute a couple plays down the stretch. That hurt us. That’s how close the game was. But we struggled to score a little bit. Chris’ minutes were limited. We didn’t shoot the ball as well as we can. I thought we did some good things. We turned it over a little bit too much in the second half so there’s a lot of things, it’s not just one thing. But I like the way we competed and we got to bounce back for another game tomorrow.”

“Its fine, it’s competitive. You know, guys are competing so there’s no problem there. I think it’s good. Guys are competing at a high level and that’s the way it should be.”

“We have got to execute, offensively and defensively, down the stretch.”

“Good. I wish I could play some more. I wish we had went in to overtime or something like that. But I have to get my rest tonight and get ready for a really good Memphis team coming here tomorrow. I think it’s going to be my first back to back.”

“We don’t look at it like that. We look at it as another team we have to play. There’s no rivalry. I don’t think so.”

“It’s always going to be chippy but I’m just out there trying to protect my teammates. We’re a family out there so we’re not going to let anyone try to run over us or anything like that.”

Clippers-Lakers Preview

By ALAN FERGUSON

With Chris Paul leading the way, the Los Angeles Clippers prevailed in their first game against the Los Angeles Lakers earlier this month.

That's also the last time Paul took the court.

The Clippers are hoping to have Paul available for Wednesday night's rematch as they try to maintain sole possession of the Pacific Division lead by handing the struggling Lakers a fourth straight defeat.

Long the lesser of the league's two Southern California teams, the Clippers (9-5) took a big step toward closing that gap by acquiring Paul from New Orleans on Dec. 14. On the one-month anniversary of that deal, the All-Star point guard scored a season-high 33 points in a 102-94 win over the Lakers, who currently trail by the Clippers by one game.

Blake Griffin added 22 points and 14 rebounds as his team led almost the entire way despite Kobe Bryant scoring 21 of 42 points in the third quarter.

Paul, though, hasn't played since that game because of a strained left hamstring, sitting out his fifth straight contest in Sunday's 103-91 win over visiting Toronto.

The team said on its Twitter account that Paul hopes to play Wednesday, but will listed as questionable.

"You've got to play it on the safe side and be a little more cautious because of the compactness of the season," former Laker Caron Butler told the team's official website. "It's for the long haul and it's about having quality over quantity."

Butler returned from a hyperextended right knee during Sunday's victory, scoring 15 points, and Mo Williams shined again. The guard scored his team's first 17 points in the fourth quarter and finished with 26, his third straight game with at least 25.

Williams was out with a sore right foot during the Jan. 14 win over the Lakers, but scored 30 in a 112-104 loss March 25.

The Lakers (10-8) will try to avoid dropping a fourth straight game for the first time since Dallas swept them out of the Western Conference playoffs in May. They had a nine-game home win streak snapped Sunday, blowing a late three-point lead in a 98-96 loss to Indiana.

They failed to reach 100 points for the 11th straight game, the franchise's longest streak since a 12-game stretch Jan. 12-Feb. 2, 2004.

"There's some bit of frustration at all levels from all of us because we're not performing the way that we think we should right now," coach Mike Brown said. "There's not one particular reason why. It's just something little here and little there."

The Lakers, though, haven't been frustrated often lately in their designated home matchups with the Clippers, having won eight in a row. Bryant has scored 30 or more points in three of the past four, including 37 during the game in March.

His 31.3-point average against the Clippers over the last three seasons is his third-highest versus any opponent. Pau Gasol has provided at least 20 points in each of the past three home games against the Lakers' co-tenants, while Andrew Bynum has averaged 20.0 points and 12.6 boards in the last eight games he's played in the series.

Griffin has scored 22 points in each of his last three overall matchups, while Paul has averaged 12.3 points - 6.4 fewer than his career mark - in his past three road games against the Lakers.

The Clippers haven't won consecutive contests against the Lakers since the final two meetings of the 2006-07 season.

SEASON & SERIES NOTES; CONNECTIONS
The Lakers currently trail their season series with the Clippers 0-1 after winning the 2010-11 season series with the Clippers 3-1. The two teams have met 190 times overall and on 124 occasions since the Clippers moved to Los Angeles. The Lakers lead the all-time series 141-49 (95-29 vs. LAC). Overall, the Lakers have lost just two season series in franchise history (1992- 93 & 1974-75) to the Clippers. The Lakers are 6-4 in their last 10 games overall against the Clippers. The Lakers are 20-4 all-time against the Clippers in home games at STAPLES Center, are 9-1 in their last 10 home contests and are winners of their last eight straight. On the road against the Clippers, the Lakers are 5-5 in their last 10 games as a visitor at STAPLES Center. In their first meeting of last season, Derek Fisher connected on a layup at the buzzer to give the Lakers an 87-86 victory 12/8/10. In 2009-10, for the third time in as many years, the Lakers established a new largest margin of victory against the Clippers since they moved from San Diego to Los Angeles prior to the 1984-85 season, defeating the Clippers by 40 points (126-86) on 1/15/10 (previous largest margin of victories were 38 (117-79, 10/29/09) and 37 (119-82, 3/7/08)). In their meeting on January 21, 2009, Andrew Bynum recorded a career-high 42 points while becoming the first Lakers player other than Kobe Bryant to record 40+ points since 2003. In addition, Bryant posted his 16th career triple-double in that game with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists. In 58 career games versus the Clippers (50 starts), Bryant is averaging 25.6 points. Additionally, Bryant has posted two 50-point games against the Clippers, most recently 4/12/07 vs. LAC (other: 50 points 1/7/06 @ LAC). Steve Blake posted his first career triple- double (23 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists) as a member of the Clippers (4/14/10) in the 2009-10 season finale against the Lakers. Blake averaged 6.8 points and 6.1 assists in 29 games (10 starts) with the Clippers a season ago. Additionally, Clippers forward Caron Butler played the 2004-05 season with the Lakers after being acquired along with Lamar Odom and Brian Grant from Miami in exchange for Shaquille O’Neal in July of 2004. In 77 games, Butler averaged 15.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.43 steals in 35.7 minutes. He was subsequently traded to Washington in August of 2005 in a deal that brought Kwame Brown to Los Angeles, which ultimately led to the acquisition two and a half years later of Pau Gasol when Brown was sent to Memphis. Also, Clippers forward Brian Cook was drafted by the Lakers in the first round (24th overall) of the 2003 NBA Draft, averaging 6.6 points and 3.2 rebounds in 4+ seasons with LA.

BRYANT APPROACHES PAIR OF FRANCHISE MILESTONES
Entering the Lakers January 25th game against the Clippers, Kobe Bryant is now just 20 field goals made shy of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s franchise record (9,935 FGM) and only 11 free throws made shy of Jerry West’s franchise record (7,160 FTM). Bryant (9,915 FGM / 7,149 FTM) already holds Lakers franchise records for points, games played, minutes played, field goals attempted and three-point field goals made and attempted while ranking second in steals and free throws attempted and third in assists.

THE CENTURY MARK
Having gone 6-4 in their last 10 games, the common denominator in each contest, win or lose, was that the Lakers scored fewer than 100 points. The last time the Lakers scored fewer than 100 points in 10 consecutive games came during the 2003-04 season when Los Angeles went 12 games from 1/12/04 vs. Cleveland thru 2/2/04 at Indiana without hitting triple digits. The Lakers went 6-6 during the stretch of games, eventually scoring 111 points in a 111-106 overtime victory at Cleveland. The Lakers finished that season with a 98.2 point per game scoring average while limiting their opponents to 94.3 points per game, ultimately winning the West before falling to the Pistons in the 2004 NBA Finals. The 98.2 ppg scoring average is the lowest for a Lakers team in the Los Angeles era. In the shot clock era, only the 1954-55 Lakers (the year the shot clock was introduced) have averaged fewer points per game in a season (95.6 ppg).

BUMP IN THE ROAD
While opening the season with a 9-1 mark at home, the Lakers are now 1-5 in away games this season, their worst road start since the 2002-03 season, when they opened the season 1-8 on the road, playing their first seven road games without injured center Shaquille O’Neal, who was sidelined after having toe surgery. That season marked their worst one-win road record since the team moved to Los Angeles. The 1958-59 Minneapolis Lakers also started the season with a 1-8 road record, after the 1957-58 Minneapolis Lakers started the season with a franchise worst 1-15 road record. This season, the Lakers were 0-3 on the road before earning an overtime victory at Utah on January 11. The Lakers last opened a season with three consecutive road losses in 1995-96, eventually falling to 0-4 away from home before earning their first road win. Since the end of neutral site games prior to the 1973-74 season, the Lakers have now opened their schedule with three or more consecutive road losses five times: 2011-12 (0-3), 1995-96 (0-4), 1993-94 (0-6), 1984-85 (0-4) and 1978-79 (0-4).

GASOL 10TH FOREIGN BORN PLAYER TO REACH 14,000-POINT MILESTONE
With a free throw at the 3:54 mark in the second quarter 1/20/12 at Orlando, Pau Gasol became the 10th foreign born player to reach 14,000 points during an NBA career. Only nine other foreign born players have reached the 14,000 career point milestone (active players career totals on 1/20/12): Hakeem Olajuwon (26,946 / Nigeria), Dominique Wilkins (26,668 / France), Patrick Ewing (24,815 / Jamaica), Dirk Nowitzki (23,072 / Germany), Tim Duncan (21,854 / U.S. Virgin Islands), Rolando Blackman (17,623 / Panama), Steve Nash (16,073 / South Africa), Kiki Vandeweghe (15,980 / Germany) and Detlef Schrempf (15,761 / West Germany).

KOBE BRYANT LEADS WESTERN CONFERENCE AFTER FIRST ROUND OF ALL-STAR BALLOTING
On January 12th, the NBA announced its FIRST returns of 2012 NBA All-Star balloting with Kobe Bryant (690,613) LEADING all Western Conference players in All-Star voting while ranking second league-wide behind Dwight Howard (754,737). Pau Gasol (185,428), who made his fourth All-Star team last season as a reserve, ranks 4th among forwards in the West behind Kevin Durant (633,538), Blake Griffin (394,264) and Dirk Nowitzki (231,832). Andrew Bynum (496,597) leads all West centers, with DeAndre Jordan (134,961) and Marc Gasol (102,116) ranked second and third respectively. Chris Paul (540,173) ranks 2nd among West guards behind Bryant. In the East, LeBron James (640,789) and Carmelo Anthony (496,351) lead all forwards in voting, Derrick Rose (640,476) and Dwyane Wade (637,912) are the top two votegetters at guard and Howard leads all centers in balloting.

In each of the last four seasons, Bryant has led the Western Conference in all-star balloting. Last season, Bryant, who was the youngest All-Star in NBA history in 1998, received 2,380,016 votes to lead all players in balloting, the second time in his career he has done so (2003). In 2009-10, Bryant received 2,456,224 votes, finishing second overall to Cleveland’s LeBron James (2,549,693). In 2008-09, he accumulated 2,805,397 votes, finishing third in overall balloting behind Dwight Howard (3,150,181) and James (2,940,823). In 2007-08, Bryant garnered 2,004,940 votes to finish fourth in overall voting behind Kevin Garnett (2,399,148), James (2,108,831) and Howard (2,066,991). In 2006-07, when he earned his second All-Star MVP, Bryant finished third overall in balloting behind James and Yao Ming. A four-time All-Star MVP (2002 Philadelphia, 2007 Las Vegas, 2009 Phoenix, 2011 Los Angeles), Bryant is a 13-time All-Star and had started 11 consecutive All-Star games before missing the 2009-10 contest due to a sprained left ankle. Gasol has made four All-Star appearances (2006, 2009-11) and in 2009, became the 27th Laker in franchise history to be named to an All-Star team. Bynum has yet to make an All-Star Team, finishing 2nd among West centers (974,546) a year ago behind Yao Ming (1,146,426).

BRYANT NEARING SHAQUILLE O’NEAL FOR 5th ON NBA’S ALL-TIME SCORING LIST
Last season, Kobe Bryant moved past Hall-of-Famers Moses Malone (27,409) 3/8/11 at Atlanta, Elvin Hayes (27,313) 2/27/11 at Oklahoma City, Hakeem Olajuwon (26,946) 1/28/11 vs. Sacramento, Oscar Robertson (26,710) 1/7/11 vs. New Orleans, Dominique Wilkins (26,668) 1/4/11 vs. Detroit and John Havlicek (26,395) 12/10/10 at Chicago on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Next on the all-time list ahead of Bryant (28,144) are Shaquille O’Neal (5th/28,596), Wilt Chamberlain (4th/31,419), Michael Jordan (3rd/32,292), Karl Malone (2nd/36,928) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1st/38,387). Among the top six scorers in NBA history, five have worn the Lakers uniform.

Bryant has been steadily moving up the list over the past few years. In 2009-10, he passed Alex English (25,613), Reggie Miller (25,279), Jerry West (25,192), Patrick Ewing (24,815) and Allen Iverson (24,368). In passing West with a slam dunk at the 4:14 mark of the third quarter February 1, 2010 at Memphis, finishing the game with 44 points (West’s retired number), Bryant became the leading scorer in Lakers franchise history. In 2008-09, Bryant passed Gary Payton (21,813) and Hall-of-Famers Charles Barkley (23,757), Robert Parish (23,334), Adrian Dantley (23,177), Elgin Baylor (23,149), Clyde Drexler (22,195) and Larry Bird (21,791).