Lakers-Clippers Preview
(AP) -- Following four consecutive losses, the Los Angeles Lakers have beaten two of the league's lightweights to get back on track heading into a seven-game road trip.
Their first stop won't take them far.
The Lakers will be visitors Wednesday night at Staples Center as one of the NBA's most imposing front lines gets its first look at star rookie Blake Griffin and the suddenly improving Clippers.
The Lakers (15-6) didn't crack triple digits during their longest skid since April 2007, but Kobe Bryant and his teammates picked it up offensively to stop their slide. The Lakers shot 56.6 percent in a 113-80 win over Sacramento on Friday, then Bryant, Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol combined for 77 points in a 115-108 victory against Washington on Tuesday.
It wasn't all easy, however. The Lakers let the Wizards get within three after leading by as many as 19.
"When we focus, we've been really good this year," Gasol said. "But when we lose that focus, teams have been able to sneak up on us and give us trouble."
Blown lead or not, Gasol's performance should have the Lakers riding high. He finished with 21 points, 14 rebounds, eight assists and five blocks - the type of dominant performance he was routinely turning in during the team's 13-2 start.
He'd averaged just 14.6 points in the past five games while dealing with a strained hamstring and complaining of fatigue.
The Lakers won't get a whole lot of rest during a seven-game trip over 12 days, but they are expected to welcome injured center Andrew Bynum back during it.
That's good news for Gasol and Odom and bad news for opponents, who have watched the Lakers score 47.0 points per game in the paint - second-best in the league.
Just a half-point behind the Lakers' paint production are the Clippers (5-17), who have Griffin largely to thank for their surprising interior effectiveness.
The No. 1 pick of the 2009 draft was supposed to make his NBA debut against the Lakers in October 2009, but Griffin's arrival - and eventually his entire season - was wiped out because of a fractured left kneecap.
Considering he's averaged 25.6 points and 13.6 rebounds while posting nine consecutive double-doubles Griffin appears to be fully recovered. With 15 double-doubles, he's one behind Gasol and Minnesota's Kevin Love for the NBA lead.
Griffin's surge has turned the Clippers from the league's worst team into one that looks capable of playing with anyone. They're 4-4 in their last eight games after a 98-91 win over Sacramento on Monday, their fourth victory in five home games.
"Are we where we need to be? Of course not. Am I happy where we're at? No," first-year coach Vinny Del Negro told the team's official website. "But I am optimistic in the sense of where we are mentally, where we are confidence-wise, and how hard the guys are working."
The Clippers, however, will be short-handed Wednesday. Two games after returning from a left ankle sprain that cost him 11 games, center Chris Kaman reinjured the ankle Sunday and could be out for another extended period.
Former Laker Brian Cook, meanwhile, is serving the second of a two-game suspension for his altercation with Portland's Andre Miller, while guard Baron Davis is a game-time decision with a hamstring injury.
The teams split four meetings last season, with each team winning as the home team.
The Clippers are 1-10 when Eric Gordon scores fewer than 27 points. He's averaged 14.0 in seven career games versus the Lakers.
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