Paul, Clippers Cruise Past Lakers To Open Preseason
LOS ANGELES (CBS) -- After a lengthy lockout that delayed the start of the NBA season, the Clippers opened up their exhibition season by beating the Lakers 114-95 at Staples Center on Monday night.
It marked the first game of the Mike Brown era as the Lakers head coach, who replaced Phil Jackson and the debut of Chris Paul, Caron Butler and Chauncey Billups for the Clippers.
Things were close for all of the first half, but the Clippers blew things open in the 3rd quarter, outscoring the Lakers 36-17 -- thanks to Billups, who had 23 points on the night.
Paul's debut couldn't have gone better, the All-Star filled up the stat sheet, scoring 17 points, seven rebounds, nine assists and five steals.
Deandre Jordan scored just six points, but all of his baskets were big-time highlights, with two alley-oops from Paul and an emphatic one-handed slam.
For the Lakers, Kobe Bryant scored 22 points on 5-10 shooting, and Pau Gasol dropped in 16 points, including a rare 3-pointer.
After the game, Brown tried to find some positives, "There were a few bright spots, but not too many because of the defense we played."
Rookie Darius Morris had nine points off the bench for the Lakers, all in the first half. "The rookie came in and was feast or famine, which is okay," said Brown.
Metta World Peace had three points in 24minutes, on 0-8 shooting.
Both teams will conclude their brief preseason on Wednesday night. The regular season begins on December 25th.
