Recap: Los Angeles Clippers 118 – Los Angeles Lakers 111

By MH
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Updated: November 1, 2014

Los Angeles Clippers’ Blake Griffin takes the court after a timeout against the Oklahoma City Thunder during an NBA basketball game in Los Angeles, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2014. The Clippers won 93-90. (AP Photo/The Orange County Register, Kevin Sullivan)

In last night’s matchup, the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Los Angeles Lakers 118-111.

It was a game of two LA teams, not a game of a home-town rivalry and Coach Byron Scott told the media that last night.

“It’s just another game. I don’t consider Lakers and Clippers a true rivalry yet,” Lakers coach Byron Scott said before the game. “Obviously, our biggest rivalry has always been the Celtics. They’ve got 17 banners; we’ve got 16 banners. That’s a rivalry.”

The Los Angeles Lakers have gotten off to a rough start this season, but they are putting up some promising stats.

Jordan Hill scored 13 of his 21 points in the third quarter, and Kobe Bryant had 21 but was costly to the Lakers down the stretch because of his cold shooting. Lin finished the game with 17 points and nine assists.

“We talked through some things and tried to open it up a little bit tonight,” Lin said. “We tried to get everything moving and the ball popping. We learned to trust each other more. We’re growing and figuring out to trust each other the right way. Just trying to create and attack and make as many plays as possible.”

Starting forward Wesley Johnson, went 0-for-5 in the first half, and put the Lakers ahead 62-61 with a layup, with 10:01 left in the period after they trailed by 15 points with less than four minutes to go in the first.

Griffin scored 39 points and went 11-for-12 from the free throw line, which is what powered the Clippers to a 118-111 victory over the Lakers in the first meeting of the season.

“Just carrying over from last year, and all the work I put in this summer, it’s confidence-building,” Griffin said. “I mean, when you’ve deposited a lot of money, you feel good about writing checks. And that’s kind of what I’m doing now. I’ve put the time in on this, but I still have to do the same things that make us successful.”

DeAndre Jordan chalked up 11 points and 13 rebounds during his foul-plagued 39 minutes. The Clippers have won eight of nine games against the Lakers since the start of the 2012-13 campaign, which includes victories by margins of 36, 48 and 23 points in the final three meetings last season.

Chris Paul had 12 points, 10 assists and two steals in last nights’ game.

“I just tried to make it as tough as possible on him,” Paul said. “If you can’t get excited about trying to defend against him, then you’re in the wrong business.”

It was Griffin who led the Clippers to a 62-56 halftime lead scoring 18 points on 8-for-13 shooting. His first 3-pointer of the season gave them a 25-12 lead with 4:34 left in the first.

The Lakers sliced a 13-point deficit to 45-42 with an 11-1 spurt capped by Bryant’s 3-pointer with 4:31 left in the half.

ESPN.com Game Notes:

Clippers:

Griffin was 12-for-44 from 3-point range last season.
Paul had 42 points, 15 rebounds and six assists against Golden State last Halloween.
Host Sacramento on Sunday.

Lakers:

Bryant helped Paul to his feet after knocking him down in the second quarter.
The Lakers Band made a rare appearance on the court to play the national anthem. Team president Jeanie Buss high-fived each member as they walked off.
Johnson had five points in 30 minutes before fouling out with 4:22 remaining.
Play at Golden State on Saturday night.

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