Blake Griffin was a human highlight film with 27 points, 14 REB, 5 AST and a trio of emphatic dunks in the fourth to seal the deal as the Clippers have now won three straight by double-digit margins. Chris Paul (15 & 15) played Robin to Griffin’s Batman while the Suns were short of superheroes. Marcin Gortat had 23, but elder statesman Steve Nash missed all four of his shots and the venerable Grant Hill (knee) didn’t play. Other Stuff MIN @ CHA: Kevin
Through the first half of the season and leading into the All-Star break, the MVP award was LeBron James’ to lose. The way the Miami Heat has played since the All-Star break, however, may re-open the MVP discussion for debate. After losing just seven games through the first two months of the season,”The King” and the Heat have lost six of 14 games in March. More alarmingly, all six losses have come on the road against some of the top teams in
Things have officially gone wild in the Wild Wild West. Over the past five seasons, at least one team with a winning record has failed to make the playoffs in the Western Conference as the competition has always been fierce and close until the final day of the season. It may never have been this close, however. Currently, 1 1/2 games separate the fourth seed and the ninth seed. Two teams — the Clippers and the Mavericks — are tied for the fourth seed
The Clippers finally got a win Saturday, and everything is hunky-dory again in Lob City. Yeah, right. The issues in Clipperland run too deep to be fixed by a matinee mauling of Memphis, which has problems of its own. It is hard to believe that a team boasting both Chris Paul and Blake Griffin may not make the playoffs, but that remains a distinct possibility. Didn’t someone around here say that a while ago? There are plenty of problems on offense. New faces are
Two teams separated by percentage points jostle for playoff position Saturday when the banged-up L.A. Clippers host the finally healthy Memphis Grizzlies at the Staples Center. The outcome of this game is huge. Memphis (25-20) and the Clippers (26-21) are fourth and fifth respectively in the tight Western Conference playoff race, but just half a game ahead of 9th seeded Denver. The Clips have lost three straight games for the first time this season, falling three-and-a-half games behind the Pacific Division leading Lakers
NEW YORK — Jason Smith of the New Orleans Hornets has been suspended two games without pay for his Flagrant Foul Two against Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, the NBA’s executive vice president of basketball operations. The incident, in which Smith made excessive contact with the upper body of Griffin, occurred with 4:06 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Hornets 97-90 win over the Clippers on March 22 at New Orleans Arena. Smith will serve his
The marriage started out so beautifully. Chris Paul was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers from the New Orleans Hornets as Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan jumped for joy and proclaimed themselves as “lob city.” The team got off to a tremendous 19-8 start and looked destined to be an immediate contender. Soon after losing Chauncey Billups to a torn Achilles tendon, however, the team’s lack of cohesion became more apparent by the game. Caron Butler fell off the map, Griffin’s offense proved to be limited
// Carmelo Anthony will be reunited with Mike D’Antoni in early July when Team USA convenes for training camp in Las Vegas. But how long the two stick together remains to be seen. Ken Berger of CBSSports.com reported that Anthony’s role in D’Antoni’s departure as head coach of the New York Knicks “did not sit well” with USA Basketball officials, who have always pointed to “sweat equity” as one of the key factors in who will represent the United States on