Clippers-Magic Preview

By MATT BECKER
Posted Feb 05 2012 12:25PM

There's a feeling of optimism among Clippers fans, as high-flying Blake Griffin and fellow All-Star Chris Paul have propelled Los Angeles to the top of the Pacific Division.

Things in Orlando aren't quite as encouraging, with All-Star Dwight Howard pursuing a trade and the team recently enduring a rocky stretch. The Magic, however, are playing better and have rarely had problems beating the Clippers.

Griffin and Paul try to help Los Angeles avoid a 10th straight loss to Howard and the Magic on Monday night at the Amway Center.

After Thursday's discouraging 112-91 home loss to Denver, the Clippers (14-7) took out their frustration on lowly Washington two days later. Los Angeles cruised to a 107-81 victory Saturday in the opener of a six-game road trip, outrebounding the Wizards 53-32 and finishing with a season-best 32 assists.

"We were all disappointed in our performance the other day against Denver," said DeAndre Jordan, who had 18 points on 9-of-11 shooting and 11 rebounds. "We really wanted to jump out early and set the tone."

Griffin, who sat out the entire fourth quarter, had 21 points, 11 rebounds and matched a season best with eight assists as the Clippers won for the fifth time in six games despite Paul's dismal performance. Paul, named to his fifth All-Star game on Thursday, finished with two points - his fewest since 2008 - on 1-of-9 shooting, but did have seven assists.

Although Paul had an off night, the Clippers' defense had one of its better performances, limiting Washington to 37.5 percent shooting. Los Angeles improved to 11-0 when allowing 95 points or fewer.

"When we get stops, we're tough to guard in transition," Paul said. "We've got the shooters, we've got the high fliers and all that. When we defend teams, we're tough to beat."

Their defense against the Magic in recent years, however, has been anything but impressive.

The Clippers have lost nine straight in the series by an average of 14.6 points. This is Los Angeles' longest active losing streak against any team, and Orlando's longest current winning streak.

The Clippers scored 85 in each meeting last season, and rarely have the games been close in Orlando, where the Magic have won the last four by an average of 23.3 points.

Griffin averaged 18.5 points on 42.9 percent shooting and 14.0 rebounds in the two games against Orlando last season, while Howard averaged 22.0 points and 14.0 boards.

Howard had 27 points and eight rebounds Saturday at Indiana to lead the Magic (15-9) to an 85-81 win, their third in a row after losing four straight and six of eight.

"We're not really inconsistent," said Howard, whose string of six straight double-doubles ended. "Every team has their stretches, but we haven't allowed it to affect us."

The Magic also didn't seem to let a demanding travel schedule bother them. After Friday's 102-94 home win over Cleveland, Orlando flew to Cincinnati because it was unable to reserve hotel rooms in Indianapolis due to the Super Bowl. It then flew to Indianapolis the morning of the game.

The contest against the Pacers kicked off a difficult stretch for the Magic, who host Miami and Atlanta after this visit from the Clippers.

Kenyon Martin, who agreed to a one-year deal with the Clippers on Friday to provide depth behind Griffin and Jordan, is expected to join the team Monday but likely won't make his debut until Wednesday at Cleveland.

The 34-year-old Martin averaged 8.6 points and 6.2 rebounds last season with Denver and spent part of this season playing in China.

Paul leads Clippers past Magic in OT, 107-102

By BY KYLE HIGHTOWER
Posted Feb 06 2012 11:55PM

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) With all the expectations heaped on the Los Angeles Clippers following their offseason makeover, they hadn't been faced with a major dose of adversity through the first part of the season.

That is about to change.

The Clippers overcame a 15-point first-half deficit and got 29 points and eight assists from Chris Paul to outlast the Orlando Magic 107-102 in overtime Monday night. But they may have lost one of the veteran cogs for the foreseeable future after guard Chauncey Billups left in the fourth quarter with a possible left Achilles injury.

"It's bittersweet," Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said. "We'll have to see what happens. Everybody stepped up, but it's been that kind of season and with Chauncey's situation, we've definitely got to have everybody playing well.

"I'm sick about it. I'm sick for him, I'm sick for us, but mostly for him and how much he means to us. Hopefully, we'll get some good news tomorrow."

Billups was having a huge night, scoring 11 of his 18 points in fourth quarter when he turned to run up the court and buckled to the ground with 5:48 left in the game. He was surrounded by trainers and teammates, but needed assistance on both sides to make it off the court.

Griffin also added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Clippers, who have won six of their last seven and snapped a nine-game losing streak to the Magic.

Paul said he likes how the team stepped up in Billups' absence, and thinks the Clippers will continue to do so if Billups gets bad news after further evaluation Tuesday.

"We've got guys who are battle tested," Paul said. "This shows how much grit and fight we have. We realize if we stick together in a tough environment like this, we are capable of winning games like this."

Dwight Howard had 33 points and 14 rebounds, and Jason Richardson 20 points for the Magic.

Orlando's loss ended a three-game win streak. It came as point guard Jameer Nelson returned to the lineup and had 15 points and 12 assists after missing five consecutive games with concussion symptoms.

Nelson didn't show any noticeable effects from his layoff, dishing to Howard for an easy dunk on the Magic's first possession of the night.

He also didn't shy from contact, throwing his body in front of Griffin early in the second quarter as he attempted to catch a lob from Paul on a fast break.

"Our guys played hard." Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. "The only thing I fault our guys for was the start of the third quarter. The first six minutes, we came with no energy whatsoever. The rest, it's on me."

The Magic were outscored 23-15, before responding with a 32-point fourth quarter to send it to the extra frame.

Back-to-back 3-pointers by Nelson and J.J. Redick put the Magic up 100-96 with 2:49 remaining in overtime.

Caron Butler used a 3 of his own a few possessions later to nudge the Clippers back ahead 101-100 and then Paul floated a jumper over the outstretched hand of Howard to make it 103-100.

Jason Richardson cut it to a basket with a dunk on the other end, but the Magic couldn't grab a missed jumper by Paul.

Mo Williams made a pair of free throws with 12.6 seconds left, but left the Magic a chance to tie. Richardson's 3-pointer from the wing rattled out and Paul was able to close the game out at the line.

"It's part of basketball. I'm not going to be down on myself - it's a part of basketball," Richardson said of his final shot attempt. "Like I said, sometimes it goes in, sometimes it don't. I'll take the blame. ... I like the pressure. But I tell you what, I don't miss too many of those."

The Clippers led by as many as nine in the fourth quarter before Billups went down.

Nelson would score six straight Magic points, followed by Ryan Anderson's 3-pointer to tie it at 89 with 2:45 left.

A driving layup by Paul put the Clippers back in front 93-91 before Richardson completed a three-point play to put the Magic back up a point.

A turnover by the Clippers gave the Magic the ball back, but Richardson was then stripped near midcourt by Butler. The ball went ahead to Paul on the fast break and eventually ended up in the hands of Griffin, who was fouled and hit 1 of 2 at the line.

The Magic milked the clock for a final shot, but Nelson missed a fade away jumper. The Clippers rebounded and wound up with five-tenths of a second, but after a timeout, Williams' 18-foot jumper at the horn missed off the front of the rim.

Griffin said avoiding early game mishaps will be of even great importance if Billups is out for the foreseeable future.

"We haven't had that kind of response on the road much," he said. "We get down early and then fight our way back multiple times so that's a good sign, but we need to not get down in the first place."

Notes: Van Gundy said he and big man Glen Davis talked Monday morning and are on the same page following his two-game suspension for a verbal run-in with Van Gundy. "He's (had) some frustration with his role and being with a new team," Van Gundy said. "But I've never thought for a second that he was a bad guy."... Though he wasn't available Monday night, Clippers free agent signee F Kenyon Martin did shoot at the team's morning walkthrough. Del Negro said that one of the benefits of signing the 6-foot-9 Martin is he'll bring even more flexibility to an already deep roster. He said that could even mean Griffin getting minutes at small forward.

Notebook: Clippers 107, Magic 102

Posted Tuesday February 7, 2012 12:27AM

Dick Scanlon, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Chris Paul had 29 points, seven rebounds and eight assists in leading the Los Angeles Clippers to their fourth straight road victory, a 107-102 decision over the Orlando Magic that may prove costly.

Chauncey Billups left the game with what appeared to be a torn left Achilles' tendon after helping the Clippers build an eight-point lead with three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.

Dwight Howard led the Magic with 33 points and 14 rebounds, but they lost to the Clippers for the first time in 10 meetings.

QUOTABLE: "I'm sick about it. Sick for us but mostly for him and how much he means to us. ... He was in some pain, and whenever that happens when no one's around, all the possibilities are out there."
-- Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro on Billups' Achilles' tendon injury.

THE STAT: The second-worst free-throw shooting team in the NBA, the Clippers shot 22-for-25 from the foul line, missing only once in 12 tries after the third quarter.

THE STREAK: A victory at Cleveland on Wednesday night would be the Clippers' fifth straight on the road, matching the franchise record set in 1974 when they were the Buffalo Braves.

QUOTABLE II: "We are in the middle of a six-game road trip. To start 2-0 and get a win like that against a good team like that is good for us and good for our confidence."
-- Clippers forward Blake Griffin

TURNING POINT: The Magic led by two points and had the ball with 1:55 left in overtime when Paul came up with a steal and assisted Caron Butler on a 3-pointer that put the Clippers ahead for keeps.

HOT: Billups made three straight 3-point shots in the fourth quarter before leaving the game with an injury with 5:48 left.

NOT: Hedo Turkoglu went scoreless in 25 minutes for the Magic, missing all six of his shots.

QUOTABLE III: "(Turkoglu) was just sort of walking around out there."
-- Magic coach Stan Van Gundy

GOOD MOVE: With 2:06 left in overtime and DeAndre Jordan and Reggie Evans having fouled out, the Clippers defended Dwight Howard with Blake Griffin. Howard did not score or get a rebound in overtime.

BAD MOVE: With a foul in the backcourt, Chris Duhon put Chris Paul at the free-throw with 0.3 seconds left in the first quarter.

IN THE ARENA: Having signed with the Clippers over the weekend, veteran forward Kenyon Martin spent much of the day at Amway Center but did not play. Martin attended a morning shootaround and the game in the first of his orientation days with the Clippers.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: With Billups' injury, Mo Williams (nine points, four assists) is likely to get a boost in minutes for the Clippers.

NOTABLE: The Magic's Jameer Nelson returned with 15 points and 12 assists after missing five games with concussion-like symptoms . ... Glen Davis returned from a two-game suspension with seven points and a couple of big steals in 26 minutes, but the Magic was minus-11 with him on the floor.

UP NEXT: For the Clippers, Wednesday @ Cleveland, Friday @ Philadelphia, Saturday @ Charlotte. For the Magic, Wednesday vs. Miami, Friday vs. Atlanta, Saturday @ Milwaukee.

• Clippers: Bledsoe, Martin
• Magic: Harper, Liggins

• Clippers: --
• Magic: --

• Lead Changes: 7
• Times Tied: 8

• Arena: Amway Center, Orlando, FL
• Officials: #59 Gary Zielinski, #45 Brian Forte, #30 John Goble
• Attendance: 18846
• Duration: 2:43