But what the Clippers, and the Lakers, need to rectify is their performance away from home. The Clippers are just 1-4 on the road this season, the sixth worst road record in the NBA.
Worst NBA Road Records
Rank
Team
Road Record
Pct
21
Golden State
2-5
.286
22
Milwaukee
3-9
.250
23
New Orleans
2-6
.250
24
San Antonio
2-7
.222
25
LA Clippers
1-4
.200
26
Sacramento
2-10
.167
27
LA Lakers
1-7
.125
28
Washington
1-8
.111
29
Detroit
1-9
.100
30
Charlotte
1-10
.091
Through games of January 28
The Clippers travel to Colorado to face the Denver Nuggets on Sunday night, and have eight of their next 10 games on the road. NBA teams have a cumulative .617 winning percentage at home this season.
For more news and information on Clippers basketball, be sure to read Clips Nation.
Blake Griffin had 20 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists Thursday night, leading the Los Angeles Clippers to a 98-91 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies at Staples Center. The win improved the Clippers to 9-2 at home this season, and 25-7 in their last 32 home games dating back to last season.
The first half was a game of runs that saw the Clippers build a 16-point lead in the first quarter, then give it all back in the second quarter. A one-point game at halftime remained close throughout the second half, but the Clippers were able to pull away in the final period.
Chris Paul scored 18 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and had seven assists on the night in his second game back from his left hamstring injury. Paul also added two steals. Hot-shooting Mo Williams added 18 points for the Clippers off the bench, and DeAndre Jordan had nine points, nine rebounds, and three blocks in the win.
Marc Gasol had 18 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists in 41 minutes for Memphis, who lost its second straight game after a seven-game winning streak earlier in the week. Rudy Gay led the Grizzlies with 24 points, including 15 in the first half.
The Clippers have two days off before hitting the road to face the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center on Sunday evening.
For more news and information on the Clippers, be sure to read Clips Nation.
A couple of former University of Connecticut stars shined in the first half at Staples Center on Thursday night, as Rudy Gay scored 15 points and Caron Butler poured in 13 points. Butler's 19-footer with 10 seconds remaining in the second quarter gave the Los Angeles Clippers a 45-44 lead at halftime over Gay's Memphis Grizzlies Thursday night at Staples Center.
The Clippers used a 20-5 run in the first quarter to build a 16-point lead, fueled by eight points from Butler and seven points and three assists from Chris Paul in the opening 12 minutes. Then the Clippers went nearly seven minutes without a basket, missing six straight shots from the end of the first quarter into the second, fueling a 17-2 Memphis run to cut the Clippers' lead to just a single point.
Blake Griffin scored 11 points and had four assists for the Clippers, who shot 47.2% (17 for 36) in the first half. Memphis shot 42.5% (17 for 40) in the opening half, and both teams had 18 rebounds.
For more news and information on the Clippers, be sure to read Clips Nation.
Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and the Los Angeles Clippers get the big stage on Thursday night at Staples Center, as they host the Memphis Grizzlies in a nationally televised game on TNT. It is the first of four scheduled games on the network this season for the Clippers. Here are the relevant details of Thursday's game:
Records: Clippers (9-6); Grizzlies (10-7)
Location: Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles
Time: 7:30 p.m.
TV: TNT, with Dick Stockton, Steve Kerr, and Reggie Miller on the call
Radio: 980 AM KFWB, with Ralph Lawler making his first appearance on radio this season
Offensive Efficiency: Clippers, 106.3 points per 100 possessions (seventh in NBA); Grizzlies, 102.6 (16th)
Mr. Efficiency: In his first game back after missing five games with a sprained left ankle, Chris Paul had 12 assists and no turnovers in Wednesday's loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. Paul has 29 assists and just two turnovers in his last three games. Wednesday was the seventh game in the last three seasons in which Paul has had at least 10 assists and no turnovers, more than any player in the NBA during that span.
Home, Sweet Home: The Clippers are 8-2 at home this season and are 24-7 in their last 31 home games dating back to last season.
For more news and information on the Clippers, be sure to read Clips Nation.
