‘’It is still early in the season
and we have a lot to prove to the rest of the league,’’ Matt Barnes said after
he helped the Clippers’ reserves outscore their starters in a 112-100 victory
over the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night.
No less an authority than Kobe Bryant is
complimentary.
‘’They’re playing extremely well,’’ Bryant said
after leading the Lakers to their fifth straight win, 100-94 over the New York
Knicks in the first game of a Christmas doubleheader at Staples Center.
‘’They’re coming at you in waves and waves.’’
The Clippers have taken advantage of a soft stretch
in their schedule to win a franchise-record 14 in a row, although they have
earlier wins over some of the league’s elite teams such as the Lakers,
defending champion Miami, Memphis, and San Antonio twice.
‘’This is fool’s gold,’’ cautioned Clippers point
guard Chris Paul, who led the starters with 14 points against the Nuggets.
‘’You don’t play for the regular season. Obviously, you want to build
something.’’
While the Clippers continue to soar, the Lakers are
starting to show signs of life in what has been a confounding season.
‘’We’re .500,’’ a smiling Dwight Howard said after
the Lakers improved to 14-14. ‘’We did it on Christmas, too. I knew this day
would come.’’
Bryant scored 34 points in his NBA-record 15th
Christmas Day game, and Metta World Peace added 20 points and seven rebounds
while defending Carmelo Anthony, whose 34 points led the Knicks.
The Lakers moved to 9-9 under new coach Mike
D’Antoni and upped their holiday record to 21-18, including 13-9 at home. They
returned to .500 for the first time since they were 8-8 on Nov. 30.
‘’It’s so early in the season to have turned a
corner,’’ Bryant said. ‘’We have everybody in the lineup and we’re starting to
see how we want to play.’’
The Clippers have clearly figured things out.
Jamal Crawford led their reserves with 22 points
and Barnes added 20 – one off his season high – as the bench outscored the
starters 64-48 in moving one win ahead of second-best Oklahoma City (21-6),
which lost to Miami earlier Tuesday.
‘’They’ve got the respect of the league and they’ve
got the attention of the league,’’ said former Clipper Andre Miller, who had 12
points for Denver. ‘’It’s tough to come in here and get a win when the team is
playing that well.’’
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