Clippers score record victory over Lakers

Five seconds into the second half, Chris Paul picked up a steal and Matt Barnes finished after Paul missed a reverse layup.
Less than a minute into the third period, the Clippers had run off six points to hike their lead to 39 points and then, finally, there were some boos for the Lakers at Staples Center.
There might not have been enough fans left by the end to release their frustration after the Clippers scored a 142-94 thrashing that was about as lopsided as any NBA game could be.
“We took a body blow and it looked like it just took us to our knees,” Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni said. “For whatever reason, maybe we couldn’t finish and make plays or anything. They smelled blood in the water and they killed us.”
It was the Clippers’ largest winning margin in their history, eclipsing the previous mark of 45 points. The Lakers equaled the worst loss in their history.
Maybe the Clippers’ 60-20 run to close the first half was still being digested by Lakers fans who watched their team being dismantled on its own court.
It started with what brings a smile to Clippers coach Doc Rivers – defense. They held the Lakers to 39.5 percent shooting, stopped their 3-point shooting and forced 22 turnovers.
“You can feel us starting to believe in our defense and being in the right spots,” Rivers said. “What I like now is every time one of them is not there, they point at themselves right away, they know it. I would prefer them not to do that and be there, but they’re getting there and they’re taking ownership when they’re not.
“If we can get four stops five stops six in a row, there’s a chance we’re going to get a couple of fast breaks in that stretch and that’s what we’re keying it on.”
Four Clippers had double-doubles before sitting out the entire fourth quarter. The one starter who didn’t have a double-double was Darren Collison, who had to settle for being the game’s high scorer with 24 points.
The Clippers had 34 fast-break points and led by as many as 51 points.
The Lakers held a 20-13 lead midway through the first quarter when the court tilted. By halftime, the Clippers held a 73-40 advantage. That’s a 60-20 run for those scoring at home.
“Going in yelling and screaming is not going to help a lot,” D’Antoni said. “There’s nobody happy over there (in the locker room) and everybody knows they’re embarrassed.”
Blake Griffin had 20 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and a devastating dunk off a lob from Paul that served as the evening’s exclamation point. Barnes had 17 points and 12 rebounds, DeAndre Jordan had 14 points and 12 rebounds and Paul had 13 points and 11 assists.
Only Pau Gasol, with 21 points, was doing anything for the Lakers in their era of small ball, going with shooters to surround Gasol. Xavier Henry finished with 15 points and Kent Bazemore had 14.
It seemed like all the Clippers needed was to avoid overconfidence. If they needed to hear that they actually lost to the Lakers on opening night, Rivers wasn’t going to bring it up.
“We can say that we never looked at that and that it never crossed our minds, but it did,” Collison said. “We knew this game was about us. We came out in the second half and we were up by 20-plus points, we told each other this is about us. We’ve got bigger goals right now. No disrespect to the Lakers, that’s a very good team, but we want to accomplish something big.”
It was one thing to see Griffin and Paul control their parts of the game, but Collison had 22 points midway through the third period and Barnes continued his hot streak.
In the previous six games, Barnes was shooting 51.3 percent on 3-pointers. He made two of his first four against the Lakers and was one of three Clippers with a double-double in the third period.
“Just playing free,” Barnes said of his recent outburst. “My mind was on a few different things going into the trade deadline, hearing a lot of rumors, really almost being traded and then the last minute it not happening.
“So I just decided to let all that go and go out there and play free. Whatever capacity I’m called upon I’ll be ready to do.”