It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, and this basketball tale of one city might never be the same.
The championship banners and retired numbers at Staples Center tell a decidedly purple-and-gold story, but the Clippers will wake up this morning as Los Angeles' best NBA team, no questions asked.
They turned aside two decades of history, as well as the Lakers, in a convincing 97-91 victory on Friday night. The Clippers improved to 7-2, the best start in franchise history, and one that only increased the volume of their playoff talk.
PHOTO: AP
"The wins keep piling up," forward Elton Brand said. "It's not about a rivalry. To us, if you ask us, we think we are the better team. We have a better record, we're in the same division, and it feels good to get out of here with this one."
The Clippers made a statement Friday to a city that rarely has taken them seriously. That it was a Lakers' home game made things all the more special.
The Lakers, meanwhile, could only lick their wounds at the end of a difficult week. They barely cracked 70 points in Monday's loss at Memphis, then trailed for much of the night against a crosstown rival they rarely acknowledged in the past.
"I found some positive things about this game," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "I found some positive things about the Memphis game. My mother always accused me of smelling roses while I was sitting on a manure pile, but that's what you do as a coach."
These are changed times indeed for the Clippers, who share the Western Conference's best record with the San Antonio Spurs. These also are changed times for the Lakers, only two seasons removed from playing in the NBA Finals.
The Lakers (4-5) had won 17 of 20 games against the Clippers during Jackson's previous tenure as coach. They had to settle for merely winning the fourth quarter on Friday.
Brand totaled 23 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots as all five Clippers starters finished in double figures. The Lakers got a game-high 36 points from Kobe Bryant, but the superstar guard missed 23 of the 35 shots he took.
"We are just not executing and I think we are relying on me way too much and I am taking way too many shots to try to keep us competitive," Bryant said. "We just have to focus on our execution and get back to basics."
Even with an injured finger on his shooting hand, Bryant has taken 71 shots the past two games. The Lakers also lost forward Kwame Brown to a hamstring injury in the second half. Brown is not expected to play Sunday.
The Lakers trailed for all of the second half, by as many as 13 points, but made a game of it late.
In short succession, forward Brian Cook knocked down a jumper, Lamar Odom stole the subsequent inbounds pass and went in for a basket, and Odom pushed in another shot as the Lakers cut the Clippers' lead to 87-82 with 2:57 left.
But Corey Maggette (21 points) beat Odom for a basket at the other end to put the Clippers back up by seven points and Bryant couldn't connect as he kept firing, trying to keep the Lakers in the game.
Bryant went 1-for-9 in the fourth quarter. Odom finished with 18 points but uncharacteristically missed five of seven free throws. The Lakers also shot just 2 of 14 from 3-point range.
"We didn't lose to a bad team," said Odom, who played four seasons with the Clippers.
The Lakers closed out the first half in terrible fashion, giving up an 8-0 run in the last 2 1/2 minutes to go into halftime trailing 53-45. Brown had one of the lowlights, needlessly fouling Sam Cassell in the backcourt with 6.9 seconds left. Cassell sank both free throws.
As hard as it was to believe, the Clippers afterward were the ones in the position to downplay their game against the Lakers.
"It doesn't matter to me, rivalry, shmivalry," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. "Basically, we're looking to win and make the playoffs. We've got one focus here, to make the playoffs, and we want to beat every team that comes in here."
HEAT 106, 76ERS 96
Dwyane Wade came within a rebound of a triple-double, scoring a season-high 32 points to help the Miami Heat end the Philadelphia 76ers' six-game winning streak with a 106-96 victory.
Wade had 10 assists, nine rebounds and a season-high six dunks. Teammate Antoine Walker scored a season-high 26 points off the bench, shooting 11-for-13.
Philadelphia's Allen Iverson, the NBA scoring leader, played 48 minutes and scored 33 points but took only nine shots in the second half.
Miami concluded a 4-0 homestand and took sole possession of first place in the Southeast Division. The Heat improved to 5-2 since Shaquille O'Neal was sidelined by a sprained right ankle.
Cavaliers 102, Magic 84
At Cleveland, Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 20 of his 22 points in the first half and also had 11 rebounds, and LeBron James added 16 points in the Cavaliers' fifth blowout win at home.
With their sixth consecutive victory, the Cavaliers improved to 7-2, matching the second-best start in team history. Only Cleveland's 1976-77 squad, which started 8-0, has opened better. The Cavs are 5-0 at home, winning each game by an average 20 points.
Steve Francis had 21 points for Orlando.
Celtics 100, Raptors 93
At Boston, Ricky Davis and Paul Pierce each scored 26 points to help the Celtics hand Toronto its season-opening ninth straight loss.
Pierce added 11 rebounds and five assists, and Davis had seven assists in leading Boston to its seventh victory in its last eight games against Toronto.
Toronto's Chris Bosh had 24 points and 14 rebounds for his sixth straight double-double and seventh of the season.
Pacers 93, Bobcats 85
At Indianapolis, Jermaine O'Neal had 29 points and 18 rebounds for Indiana.
O'Neal was 9-of-17 from the field and 11-of-12 from the line for Indiana, which rebounded from a 122-90 loss in Charlotte on Wednesday to snap a two-game losing streak. Kareem Rush led Charlotte with 20 points.
Hornets 95, Hawks 92
At Oklahoma City, rookie Chris Paul scored 25 points, including five late free throws, and New Orleans held off winless Atlanta's fourth-quarter rally.
Salim Stoudamire, who scored 30 points to lead Atlanta, missed a desperation 3-pointer from near half court that would have sent the game to overtime. Atlanta dropped to 0-9, the worst start in franchise history.
Paul had a career-high 12 assists.
Suns 102, Jazz 94
At Phoenix, Eddie House made seven of 11 3-point attempts en route to a career-high 31 points and the Suns handed Utah its fourth straight loss.
The Suns, winners at home for just the second time in six games, blew the game open with a 19-4 outburst late in the third quarter and into the fourth.
House finished 11-for-16 from the field. His previous career best was 28 points for Miami against Orlando on April 12, 2002.
Mehmet Okur scored 29 points for the Jazz.
Nuggets 95, Knicks 86
At Denver, Carmelo Anthony took over the game in the third quarter and finished with 25 points for the Nuggets.
Stephon Marbury, who said he was upset with his role in Larry Brown's system after a four-point night in a loss to the Lakers this week, stayed at point guard for the Knicks. He finished with nine points and nine assists and spent the final 7 minutes of the competitive game on the bench with a towel draped over his head.
Channing Frye had 22 points and eight rebounds points for the Knicks, who finished their Western trip at 2-4.
Pistons 78, Rockets 70
At Houston, Richard Hamilton scored 19 points and Detroit improved to 8-0 for the first time since 1988-1989 when it won the first of back-to-back NBA titles.
Tayshaun Prince and Rasheed Wallace added 14 points apiece for the Pistons. If Detroit wins at Dallas on Saturday night, the Pistons will match the 1970-71 squad for the best start in franchise history.
Yao Ming scored 20 points for the Rockets.
Kings 103, Bucks 82
At Sacramento, California, Peja Stojakovic scored 19 points, Mike Bibby had 17 and the Kings won consecutive games for the first time this season.
Brad Miller added 16 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for Sacramento, which followed a 36-point win over Utah with a strong effort against the Bucks.
Joe Smith had a season-high 21 points and seven rebounds for Milwaukee.
Warriors 91, Trail Blazers 80
At Portland, Oregon, Jason Richardson had 28 points and seven rebounds, and Baron Davis added 16 points and 11 assists for Golden State.
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