Downtown beat-down

Wow, blowout city, routsville.

The Lakers used a 17-0 run during the second quarter to turn the Clippers' season opener into a nightmare. The Lakers trailed, 33-32, then calmly, coolly and collectively raced away from the Clippers for a 117-79 victory to improve their record to 2-0.

Think of it, the Lakers outscored the Clippers by a staggering 85-46 after trailing by a point with 9:05 remaining in the second quarter. Their 17-0 run propelled them to a 49-33 with 4:09 left in the quarter.

Seven Lakers scored 10 or more points, led by Kobe Bryant with 16. He also had eight rebounds and three assists. Derek Fisher and Jordan Farmar scored 15 apiece. Pau Gasol had 13 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Andrew Bynum had 12 points and nine rebounds. Trevor Ariza had 11 points and Chris Mihm added 10.

The Lakers' biggest lead was 40 points. It was their fifth straight win over the Clippers. They outrebounded the Clippers by 51-32 and outshot them by 51.3 percent to 38.5.

Quoteworthy: "We don't expect to win by 20 and 40, but maybe we do," Gasol said, referring to the Lakers' 20-point win over Portland on Tuesday and their 38-point win over the Clippers. "Maybe we do have to expect that and to push ourselves to get to that level every game. We're capable of doing it like we just proved in the first two games. Maybe it won't be easy, but we're going to work against everyone we face."