“It was just a good old-fashioned heavyweight championship staredown. That’s all,” the coach said. “But they earned the right to celebrate, the way they played. So what you’ve got to do as a coach or as a player is just let it soak in and remember it. That’s all. Mark it down with permanent ink.”
This is what makes good rivalries – teams remembering stuff that happened in previous games that pissed them off, whether they be stares and glares or fouls and fights. And by the look and sound of it, the Warriors and Clippers appear to be developing a genuine dislike for each other.
There won’t be much time for that hatred to dissipate, either. The teams meet for the fourth and final time this season in Oakland on Martin Luther King Day, a highly inopportune time to resume hostilities. You get the sense that won’t mean a thing to either team once the ball goes up.
After that, the only further showdowns would be in the postseason, which would be both historic and terrific. The Clippers and Warriors never have met in the playoffs – they have only been in the same postseason once, in 1992 – and a meeting likely would come in the second round, with both teams gunning for their first trip to the Western Conference finals in ages. The Clippers never have been there, while the Warriors haven’t been there since 1976 – before the ABA-NBA merger.
I can’t wait.
TRIVIA: Carmelo Anthony has two games of at least 45 points this season. Who was the last Knicks player to have multiple 45-point games in the same season? Answer below.
THE END OF CIVILIZATION AS WE KNOW IT: The Detroit Pistons, who are 29th in the NBA in attendance and dead last with an awful 60.5 percentage of capacity, tried to attract fans to Friday’s home game vs. Atlanta with a Star Wars promotion featuring … Billy Dee Williams, who played Lando Calrissian in The Empire Strikes Back, which was released over 30 years ago.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Indiana Pacers forward Tyler Hansbrough, when asked if Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett apologized for clobbering him in the head with a flagrant foul that earned an ejection:
“KG apologize? Are you from here?”
LINE OF THE WEEK: DeMarcus Cousins, Sacramento at Toronto, Jan. 4: 33 minutes, 11-18 FGs, 9-12 FTs, six offensive rebounds, 20 total rebounds, four assists, two steals, 31 points in a 105-96 win. The points were a season high and the rebounds matched a career high for Cousins, who completely mauled Aaron Gray (scoreless 7 minutes, 3 fouls) and Amir Johnson (scoreless 9 minutes, fouled out).
LINE OF THE WEAK: Pau Gasol and Metta World Peace, LA Lakers vs. LA Clippers, Jan. 4: combined 
62 minutes, 2-12 FGs, 0-6 3-pointers, 0-0 FTs, nine rebounds, four assists, one steal, three blocks, two turnovers, eight fouls, four points in a 107-102 loss. Gasol was benched for the fourth quarter and MWP eventually fouled out. Together, they were so bad that forgotten teammate Antawn Jamison played for the first time since Dec. 16.
TRILLION WATCH: Pacers forward Sam Young nearly had a 7 trillion Monday vs. the Grizzlies but spoiled it with a foul and was waived six days later. This week’s zero hero was Hawks center Johan Petro, who had a 4 trillion Monday at Houston.
GAME OF THE WEEK: Miami at Indiana, Jan. 8. The first meeting this season between teams that met in last year’s Eastern Conference semifinals won’t be pretty. But it should be an excellent battle of contrasts, with the Heat’s small ball – and awful rebounding – going against the Pacers’ second-ranked defense – and teeth-pulling offense.
GAME OF THE WEAK: Dallas at Sacramento, Jan. 10. These teams are tied for 12th in the West, which explains why this is the game not on TNT.