Clippers win Christmas game over Lakers, 94-84 - Los Angeles Times
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Clippers win Christmas game over Lakers, 94-84

Guards Chris Paul of the Clippers and D'Angelo Russell of the Lakers try to track down a loose ball.

Guards Chris Paul of the Clippers and D’Angelo Russell of the Lakers try to track down a loose ball.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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The Clippers extended their winning streak over the Lakers to eight games with a 94-84 victory on Christmas evening.

Even though the Clippers never trailed and led by as many as 28 points, the victory was not as lopsided as it might seem.

The Lakers opened the fourth quarter with a 25-4 run to cut their deficit to seven points, 89-82, with four minutes left after Julius Randle made two free throws. The Staples Center crowd went wild, but the Lakers could not complete the comeback.

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The Lakers had zero second-chance points and fastbreak points by halftime. The Clippers bested the Lakers for the game in points in the paint, 30-22, second-chance points, 17-5, and rebounds, 45-40.

Kobe Bryant, playing in his 16th and final Christmas game, took the mic before tipoff and thanked the fans. He received several raucous “Ko-be, Ko-be” chants throughout the game. He finished with 12 points on four-for-10 shooting, falling short of his average over the last five games of 23.8 points on 46.2% shooting.

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The Lakers were led by D’Angelo Russell, who had 16 points and seven rebounds. Jordan Clarkson and Julius Randle each had 11 points.

Chris Paul finished with 23 points on 11-for-19 shooting, six assists and five rebounds for the Clippers. J.J. Redick added 14 points while Blake Griffin had 13 points and 12 rebounds.

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For the Clippers, who entered Friday’s game having lost three straight, the win was a welcome sendoff for a team about to leave on a four-game trip. The Clippers improved to 17-13 while the Lakers fell to 5-25.

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