LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Jamal Crawford once again sizzled off the bench as the Los Angeles Clippers pounded the struggling Dallas Mavericks 112-90 with a commanding display on their home court on Wednesday. Crawford scored a game-high 20 points on seven-of 12 shooting while twice All-Star forward Blake Griffin weighed in with 19 points and 13 rebounds to help Los Angeles win their fourth successive game. …
Lamar Odom won’t have to visit Dallas on Wednesday night, he won’t be faced with the indignity of playing his former team in Texas until late March, but he and his Clippers will face the Mavericks in Los Angeles on Wednesday and the press has already started to round up quotes from the forward in anticipation. The Mavs dealt for Odom a year ago in the hopes that his all-around game would serve as the perfect placeholder for a team rebuilding on the fly following its 2011 NBA title, and instead Odom turned in a one-year drop off for the ages. Lamar didn’t even make it back to the postseason with the Mavs, while they attempted to defend their title, as the team sent the out of shape defending Sixth Man of the Year home after tiring of his lackluster play.
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With the Mavs and one-time combatant Mark Cuban in town, Odom has responded with an expected — if still somewhat worrying — shrug of the shoulders. From the Los Angeles Times :
When asked after practice whether he had any emotions about playing Dallas, Odom said, “Naw.”
Why?
“It was a blur, man,” Odom replied. “I wasn’t there either, like mentally.”
“The people are nice,” Odom said of Dallas. “Great fans.
“Sometimes we make pit stops in some places. I remember the people and the city. Basketball just wasn’t there for me at that time.”
OAKLAND — Orlando Magic coach Jacque Vaughn cautioned his team after Sunday’s emotional win over old pal Dwight Howard and the Lakers in Los Angeles to keep the party short. A hot Golden State Warriors team awaited 24 hours later.
* Howard finishes with 21 points, 15 rebounds * Magic snap three-game losing streak Dec 2 (Reuters) – The Orlando Magic caught fire in the fourth quarter to stun the Los Angeles Lakers 113-103 and get the better of former player Dwight Howard on Sunday. In their first meeting since trading Howard to Los Angeles in the off-season, the struggling Magic surprised the Lakers by scoring 40 fourth-quarter points to snatch the road victory. …
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jamal Crawford scored 17 points off the bench, leading seven Clippers in double-digit scoring, and Los Angeles rested all of its starters in the fourth quarter of a 116-81 blowout of the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night.
Dwight Howard played the first 621 games and eight seasons of his career with the Orlando Magic. He’ll be competing against them for the first time Sunday night in Los Angeles.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Antawn Jamison scored 33 points while leading an outstanding game by the Lakers’ reserves, and Dwight Howard had 28 points and 20 rebounds before hitting Los Angeles’ 17th 3-pointer in the final seconds of a 122-103 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Friday night.
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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – - Indiana guard George Hill delivered the kind of last-gasp, game-winning basket Kobe Bryant is famous for to give the Pacers a scrappy 79-77 win over the Lakers in Los Angeles on Tuesday. Bryant shrugged off “flu-like symptoms” to score 40 of the Lakers’ points, though he was disappointed to have turned the ball over 10 times. The Lakers trailed for most of the game but looked set for another come-from-behind win when Bryant slotted a three-pointer to tie the score at 77-77 with 24 seconds left. Hill had other ideas, however. …
(Fixes byline) LOS ANGELES, Nov 27 (Reuters) – - Indiana guard George Hill delivered the kind of last-gasp, game-winning basket Kobe Bryant is famous for to give the Pacers a scrappy 79-77 win over the Lakers in Los Angeles on Tuesday. Bryant shrugged off “flu-like symptoms” to score 40 of the Lakers’ points, though he was disappointed to have turned the ball over 10 times. The Lakers trailed for most of the game but looked set for another come-from-behind win when Bryant slotted a three-pointer to tie the score at 77-77 with 24 seconds left. Hill had other ideas, however. …