LA Clippers Throttle Lakers In Another Game Without Blake Griffin

The LA Clippers had no problems after a tight first quarter at Staples Center against the rival Lakers, handing purple and gold their ninth straight loss.

Chris Paul had another big night as the Clippers got another win to extend their current winning streak to three games.

In the first game back against the Lakers since Blake Griffin was originally injured on Christmas, the Clippers looked like a team ready to enjoy the moment.

Yet again caught in a tough position where they have to win big and often just to stay alive because the rest of the Western Conference above them in the standings are just that good, Los Angeles hung tough for what it’s worth.

And right now, it’s worth it’s weight in gold.

To add to tonight’s dominating victory, the Clippers are now 7-3 in their last ten games; staying exactly four games behind the Oklahoma City Thunder for third place in the standings.

Chris Paul led all scorers in the game with 27 points, adding seven assists and two steals to his stat totals.

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For the Lakers, it turned out to be a rather productive night for Julius Randle — but despite his best efforts, it was not enough to save the team from another defeat.

Randle had 23 points and 14 rebounds, but those numbers were put in the background due to his six turnovers.

If the Lakers are expecting to get anywhere near good anytime soon, the last thing they can afford to have happen is for players to have six turnovers apiece.

It just won’t get the job done.

Randle is looking to use his snub from All-Star Weekend as momentum moving forward, and it might be what Los Angeles needs in the long run.

There’s still plenty to be decided on what the Lakers will do with the trade deadline approaching, but as for the Clippers, their focus remains on the playoffs.

And by playoffs, they mean business.

Aside from Paul’s big game, the other Clippers that stuck out against the Lakers were Austin Rivers, Lance Stephenson, and Jamal Crawford — all who came off the bench to be productive.

Rivers put up 17 points, Stephenson dropped 16, and Crawford pitched in 15 of his own to help the Clippers stay in control throughout.

If there’s one major takeaway in regards to what the Clippers could still use some work on, it’d be their rebounding game.

Not having Blake Griffin around hasn’t stopped them from winning, but if they don’t watch their laziness on the boards, it could easily come back to haunt them.

The Clippers didn’t do too bad with their shooting percentage either, hitting just shy of 50% from the field and knocking down eight three-pointers.

Collectively, however, the Lakers out-rebounded the Clippers by a factor of ten — 48-38.

Rebounds will be the key to winning major playoff games down the stretch, so to get past the Thunder, Spurs, or Warriors, the Clippers will have to make winning the rebound battle a higher priority.

Next: Lakers Brace For Open Season

Because Chris Paul & Co. should be done playing games by now.