Lakers at Clippers
THE STORY: This is what Hollywood has been waiting for. Well, at least the NBA part of Hollywood. In the first of three meetings this season, the Los Angeles Clippers will be the home team Saturday night when they face the co-tenant Lakers. Kobe Bryant and the Lakers have long since owned the city and have won eight in a row at Staples Center this season, but Chris Paul will try to help the Clippers steal some thunder. In Friday’s 97-92 victory over Cleveland, Bryant scored 42 points, his third consecutive game with at least 40. He has not accomplished that in five years, and he has never done so with a damaged wrist. “The wrist is feeling stronger, feeling more comfortable,” Bryant said. “It’s just motivation. Nobody wants to hear about a bad wrist as being the reason why I had a bad game. Nobody wants to hear excuses.” The game is big and important, but as Clippers star Blake Griffin said of the shortened season, “We could win 10 statement games and lose the other 56.”
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, KCAL (Lakers), FS Prime Ticket (Clippers)
ABOUT THE LAKERS (9-4): Lakers backup guard Steve Blake is expected to remain sidelined for up to a month because of fractured cartilage around his ribs. Blake could be back as early as Feb. 3 in Denver. “It's sore,” Blake said Friday. “It's about the same as it was. Everyday-life stuff hurts. Breathing, throwing, anything like that.” Blake averages 7.2 points. Rookie Darius Morris will help pick up the slack.
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (5-3): The Clippers have one of the biggest and brightest young stars in Griffin and a mammoth center in 6-11, 265-pound center DeAndre Jordan, but remain the NBA’s worst rebounding team (37 per game) and that could be trouble against Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and the league-leading Lakers (46.8). The category is a key concern for coach Vinny Del Negro. “We have to control their rebounding … control them on the glass,” Del Negro said.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. The Lakers lead the series with the Los Angeles Clippers 95-28 and have not lost a season series since 1992-93.
2. The Lakers were outscored 36-4 by the Cleveland bench Friday.
3. The Clippers moved into the Staples Center along with the Lakers and NHL’s Kings on April 17, 1998.