Clippers at Kings
The Los Angeles Clippers were served a reminder that they aren't just going to cruise to victories on a nightly basis. Los Angeles looks to rebound from its second loss of the season when it visits the Sacramento Kings on Friday.
The Clippers suffered a 111-107 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday and shooting guard J.J. Redick felt the end of the seven-game winning streak serves as a needed blow. "Sometimes you forget when you win a series of games by a lot, you forget how hard it is to win in this league," Redick said after the defeat. "And the other thing is sometimes you get a little comfortable and you forget what makes you good." Sacramento has lost three straight games and frustration was evident after a 110-105 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday in the opener of a five-game homestand. "We're making it hard on ourselves right now," star center DeMarcus Cousins told reporters. "We've got to come out with better energy and a better effort. It's on us if we want to turn this around. It's nobody's fault but ours."
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, Prime Ticket (Los Angeles), CSN California (Sacramento)
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (10-2): Redick scored a season-best 29 points in the loss to the Grizzlies and power forward Blake Griffin (25 points) had a similar viewpoint in terms of the setback. "It is a lesson," Griffin told reporters. "Putting ourselves in such a big hole makes late games so intense for every little thing. It messes you up. I think it is good. We love to win them all, but (a loss) will be good for us." Point guard Chris Paul will be looking for a bounce-back performance after matching a season low with nine points on 3-of-11 shooting despite racking up five or more steals for the fourth time this season.
ABOUT THE KINGS (4-8): Cousins scored 26 points and posted season bests of 17 rebounds and six assists in the loss against the Spurs but it wasn't enough to deliver a victory. The big man has 10 20-point outings - including five in a row - but his production is being sabotaged by Sacramento's inefficiencies. "We didn't play with enough force, that's the bottom line," Kings coach Dave Joerger said after the loss to San Antonio. "We came out, we were slow, we didn't make anything that they did difficult."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Clippers won six of the past seven meetings.
2. Los Angeles is 5-0 on the road and three of the victories have were by double digits.
3. Sacramento SF Rudy Gay scored just 11 points against the Spurs after putting up 29 points and a season-best 14 rebounds in the previous contest.