Lakers at Clippers
The Clippers are the new basketball kings of Los Angeles, and they'll try to make another statement to that effect when they face the Lakers on Sunday. The rivals square off for the fourth and final time this season with the Clippers trying to continue their dominance from the past two meetings. The Lakers won the first matchup this season, but the Clippers have won the last two by a combined 84 points, including a 142-94 drubbing on March 6.
The Clippers had won the season series only twice in their first 42 years but are one win away from doing it for the second year in a row. "We've got to match their energy," Lakers guard Kent Bazemore told reporters. "That's a team that gets up and down. We have to try to make them play our style of basketball and try to take the air out of the ball a little bit." The Lakers are in danger of posting their worst season since moving to Los Angeles, a dubious distinction currently belonging to the 1974-75 team that went 30-52.
TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC
ABOUT THE LAKERS (25-51): The Lakers — or what's left of them — have lost three straight and 12 of 16, and they've allowed an average of 118 points during that 16-game stretch. They're still awfully short-handed with guards Kobe Bryant (knee), Jordan Farmar (groin) and Xavier Henry (wrist) and centers Pau Gasol (vertigo) and Chris Kaman (calf) all out and point guard Steve Nash likely to sit out this one. The Lakers have benefited from the return of reserve forward Nick Young, who has put up 19.7 points per game in nine contests since coming back from a knee injury.
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (54-23): The Clippers are two games behind Oklahoma City for the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference and have already wrapped up the Pacific Division crown. They have won 17 of 20 overall but had an eight-game home winning streak snapped with a 113-107 loss to Dallas on Thursday, falling short despite Blake Griffin's fourth career triple-double. Griffin and DeAndre Jordan are a tough duo to handle in the post, especially for the short-handed Lakers, who will also have to put an inexperienced stand-in on star point guard Chris Paul.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Clippers are 33-7 at Staples Center while the Lakers are 15-26 in the teams' shared home arena.
2. Clippers G Jamal Crawford (calf) has missed the past three games and reportedly could be out for the remainder of the regular season along with fellow reserve F Danny Granger (hamstring).
3. The Clippers are 33-1 when they make at least nine 3-pointers, including a 15-0 mark at home.