Clippers guard Chris Paul reacts after bumping into Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell during Tuesday night’s game at Staples Center, won 103-81 by the Clippers/Staff photo by Stephen Carr
– Luc Mbah a Moute and others made Kobe Bryant work hard for his shot, so on a night the Clippers honored the retiring Bryant, he scored just six points on 2 of 12 shooting. Although fans wanted to see more of Bryant, he did not play in the fourth quarter of a game the Clippers led by as many as 28 points during those final 12 minutes. Bryant played 22 minutes and 15 seconds.
– Since none of the Clippers’ starters played during the fourth quarter, that means Chris Paul’s numbers were outstanding. He scored 25 points on 10 of 14 shooting and also pulled down four rebounds and doled out eight assists in just over 23 minutes. He also had two steals and zero turnovers.
– Blake Griffin had another rusty performance. In his second game back after missing the previous 45, Griffin scored just four points on 1 of 5 shooting. He had three rebounds, three assists and four turnovers in 16 minutes and 48 seconds. He would have played a few more minutes had the game not been a rout, but Doc Rivers said he didn’t want to put him back with the game the way it was. Griffin is now 3 of 12 from the field since returning. He was 2 of 7 Sunday against Washington.
– Jeff Green had a nice game in 31-plus minutes off the bench. He scored 21 points on 7 of 12 from the field. He also had three rebounds, two assists, a steal, a block and just one turnover.
– The Lakers shot just 31.3 percent from the field, 30 percent (6 of 20) from beyond the arc. Part of that was solid defense by the Clippers. Lakers guards D’Angelo Russell (4 of 17) and Jordan Clarkson (4 of 13) shot a combined 8 of 30 (26.6 percent).
