The Lakers upset the Clippers on Tuesday night at Staples Center opening the season with a stunning bench performance.
Heading into the fourth quarter with a four point deficit the combination of Jordan Farmar Jodie Meeks Xavier Henry Wesley Johnson and Jordan Hill completely overwhelmed the Clippers.
Henry led all scorers with a career high 22 points on 8 of 13 shooting. Farmar had 16 with six assists.
Coach Mike D'Antoni stuck with the lineup through the entire period letting the group close out against the Clippers' stars.
Griffin led the Clippers with 19 points. DeAndre Jordan had 17 points with 11 rebounds.
Pau Gasol also had a double double with 15 points 13 rebounds and four assists. Paul had a double double as well with 15 points and 11 assists.
The Lakers shot 45.2% from the field for the game but shot 48.3% from three point range (14 29). The Clippers hit 49.2% and 38.1% respectively.
Despite 19 turnovers the Lakers made up for some of their miscues with 30 second chance points to the Clippers' 16. The Clippers turned the ball over 16 times.
While he didn't put numbers on the stat sheet newcomer Johnson was a major factor in the final run guarding All Star forward Blake Griffin.
The Lakers improve to 1 0 on the season. They'll play again Wednesday night in Oakland against the Golden State Warriors.
The play of the bench could indirectly help on the second night of a back to back given Gasol s 24 minutes was the most of any starter Tuesday. Steve Nash played just over 20 minutes scoring three points with five assists.
Clippers 79 Lakers 75 (end of third quarter)
After an early burst from the Clippers the Lakers stayed competitive through most of the third quarter.
The Clippers led by as many as eight shot 50% from the field through three periods but still only led the Lakers by a small margin.
The Lakers hit just 38.6% from the field through 36 minutes but stayed in the game on the glass free throw line and behind the arc.
Blake Griffin led all scorers with 19 points. Pau Gasol had 15 for the Lakers. Nick Young chipped in 13 on 3 of 10 shooting hitting 6 of 8 from the line.
The Clippers had the advantage in the paint 40 26.
Clippers 57 Lakers 55 (halftime)
The Clippers got physical with the Lakers in the second quarter committing a pair of flagrant fouls. Matt Barnes and DeAndre Jordan were both called with flagrant 1 calls (on Shawne Williams and Nick Young respectively).
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