Raptors at Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers suffered one demoralizing loss and let the hangover slip into the next game as well. The Clippers will try to avoid a third consecutive setback when they host the scuffling Toronto Raptors on Sunday.
Los Angeles let a 23-point lead slip away and was run off the floor in the fourth quarter of a 124-117 home loss to the undefeated Golden State Warriors on Thursday and could not pick itself up in time to avoid a 102-91 loss at Portland on Friday. “I think fatigue was definitely an issue, just the travel when you’re doing a long flight and all that, but you can’t use that as excuses,” Clippers forward Blake Griffin told reporters. “You have to be better down the stretch and execute.” The Raptors finally picked up a win on their five-game road trip with a 102-91 triumph over the struggling Los Angeles Lakers on Friday after dropping the first three legs. Even the victory came with a catch, as center Jonas Valanciunas suffered a broken bone in his left hand.
TV: 3:30 p.m. SNET (Toronto), Prime Ticket (Los Angeles)
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (8-6): Valanciunas, who leads the team in rebounding (9.3) and sits third in scoring (12.7), will undergo more tests to determine how much time he will miss, but a matchup against Clippers center DeAndre Jordan is unlikely. "It's unfortunate, and we're definitely going to miss him because of what we do, so it's next man up right now," Toronto point guard Kyle Lowry told reporters. That next man up is likely Bismack Biyombo, who is averaging 4.4 points and 5.8 rebounds in 16.9 minutes off the bench.
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (6-6): Los Angeles has dropped four of its last five games and allowed an average of 115.5 points in the defeats while being beaten on the glass in each. “Losing the game hurt the most, but we’re getting crushed on the glass,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers told reporters after the loss in Portland. “I thought we had a chance early on to get up big, and they kept getting second shots. I thought it really hurt us.” Jordan is grabbing 12.8 boards per game after averaging 15 last season.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Raptors took both meetings last season, including a 110-98 win at the Clippers on Dec. 27.
2. Lowry went 7-of-11 from 3-point range on Friday and has scored 20 or more points in seven straight games.
3. Los Angeles G Pablo Prigioni (illness) sat out the last two games and is day-to-day.