Clippers at Lakers
The Los Angeles Clippers own the title as professional basketball's best
team in Southern California and they look to defeat the Los Angeles
Lakers for the eighth consecutive time when the clubs meet on Christmas
Day at the Staples Center. The Clippers have won the past seven meetings
by an average of 24.6 points, including victories by 48, 36, 28, 25 and
23 points.
Lakers small forward Kobe Bryant will be playing on Christmas Day for the 16th and final time. Bryant holds the NBA record for points (383) on Christmas and is enjoying his best stretch of the season with a 23.8 average over his past five games. Bryant fell one point short of his fifth straight 20-point outing on Wednesday as he scored 19 in a 120-85 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Clippers have suddenly dropped into a funk with three straight losses after winning nine of their previous 11 games.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, Prime Ticket (Clippers), TWC SportsNet (Lakers)
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (16-13): The Clippers have been off since Monday's 100-99 loss to the Thunder and are hoping a few days of practice will help cure their woes. "It's all about synergy," point guard Chris Paul told reporters. "It's all about the team. If all of us know something and everybody else doesn't, it doesn't matter, because this is the ultimate team sport." Paul has been getting everybody involved and also providing consistent scoring with six double-doubles in the past eight games.
ABOUT THE LAKERS (5-24): Bryant had been shooting the ball better over the past 10 days but was just 7-of-22 from the field in Wednesday's contest. He is averaging 19.4 points in 12 December games while scoring in double digits 11 times and appears to have accepted that his final season will be a long one for the team. "Listen, you have to be realistic about what we're facing and where we are right now as a team and as an organization," Bryant said after Wednesday's loss. "I mean, you can train a cat to bark all you want, but the damn cat's not going to bark. So there's no sense in yelling at it."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Lakers have scored more than 100 points just once during the seven-game losing streak against the Clippers.
2. Lakers PF Julius Randle (ankle) could miss his second straight game while backup SF Nick Young (gastroenteritis) should be back after missing the Oklahoma City contest.
3. Clippers backup SF Paul Pierce (back) is expected to return from a one-game absence while it remains unclear whether backup F Josh Smith (benching) will see action.