Rowan Kavner
LOS ANGELES – Wesley Johnson made sure the Lakers still thought about him on Christmas night.
The Clippers’ comfortable 28-point lead after three quarters became anything but that as the Lakers got the deficit down to single digits before two clutch shots from Johnson, who played his previous two seasons with the Lakers, helping the Clippers finally close out a 94-84 win.
Chris Paul had 23 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals. Blake Griffin had 13 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. Jamal Crawford led the Clippers’ bench with 13 points.
The Clippers led, 85-57, after three quarters, shooting 50 percent from the floor and holding the Lakers to 38.2 percent shooting at the time. Next Game: 12/26 Tipoff: 6:00pm PDT
Next Game: 12/26
But the Lakers made Christmas night interesting in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Clippers, 27-9. By the 4:56 mark, it was already a 23-4 run and suddenly just an 89-82 advantage for the Clippers as the backups struggled late.
Four of the five starters joined Johnson late to settle things down. Every starter for the Clippers finished at least plus-15 on the night, and the Clippers outscored the Lakers by at least six points every quarter except for the last.
The Clippers saw good looks from the start and took advantage, shooting 63.6 percent in a first quarter in which Paul, Griffin and J.J. Redick each had at least seven points.
Head coach Doc Rivers said he still wanted the Clippers to be better defensively even though the Lakers only scored 84 points and had no fast-break or second-chance points in the first half.
