Division titles don’t mean a whole lot in the NBA these days. But for a Clippers franchise that has been mired in mediocrity or worse for the better part of its existence, clinching the first Pacific Division championship in franchise history with a runaway 109-95 win over a Lakers team with more than any of them has some marked significance.
The Lakers had won 23 of the 42 all-time division titles before this season, including the last five straight.
The Clippers unquestionably have a younger and more athletic squad than do the Lakers, but with Steve Nash and Metta World Peace out of the lineup due to injury, the Lakers once again went with a seven-man rotation until the game’s final seconds, with Kobe Bryant logging all but 40 seconds of the game’s 48 minutes.
That’s not a good recipe for success against a high-energy Clippers team, who played with confidence and overcame a stellar team defensive effort from the Lakers early by dominating the glass and pushing the ball for easy looks in transition.
The Clippers had 16 offensive rebounds that resulted in 24 second chance points, and finished the game with an overall rebounding advantage of 14. Dwight Howard finished with just four, due to a combination of being out of position or being simply outworked by Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, who finished with 12 and 13 apiece.
Bryant began the game by trying to involve his teammates, and racked up nine first half assists in the process. He had just one after the first two quarters, and managed to knock down just four of his 12 second half shots, but was aggressive overall in getting to the free throw line 14 times over the final two periods.
Like most teams, the Lakers are better when the ball is shared, however, and Bryant alone against an active Clippers defense wasn’t going to get it done in this one. After the Clippers opened the second half to push the lead to 13, the Lakers were able to get it back wihin single digits only once the rest of the way, cutting it to nine with 7:40 remaining in the fourth.
It was back to 11 on the next trip down the floor, and the Clippers pulled away late, getting a flying one-handed offensive rebound, put-back dunk from Griffin and a three-pointer from him on consecutive possessions to put an exclamation point on the victory with under two minutes to play.
In addition to the division title, the win gave the Clippers a sweep of the season series with the Lakers for the first time since both teams began playing in Los Angeles back in 1984. These are solid accomplishments for the Clippers franchise, but more than anything, they demonstrate just how far the Lakers have fallen this season.