All-Star voting lead stuns Kobe

Before the Christmas Day game, Clippers forward Blake Griffin told reporters he feels Bryant deserves to play in the game, even if there are other deserving players. Griffin will begin a recovery and treatment plan and will be re-evaluated in two weeks.

Kobe Bryant thrilled the crowd in his final Christmas Day game, but the Los Angeles Lakers still came up short.

Though the Clippers haven’t at all lived up to their massive preseason hype, Griffin was enjoying a typically monstrous year, averaging 23.2 points, 8.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game. Rookie D’Angelo Russell followed an 18-point effort in Wednesday’s 120-85 loss to Oklahoma City with 16 against the Clippers, while second-year forward Julius Randle scored 11 fourth-quarter points to lead Friday’s rally attempt. Redick led the way for the Clippers with 25 points while Pierce added a personal season-high 20 points. They combined to make 10 of 12 3-pointers – and all but one of those came in the second half. He plays for the Lakers…Almost the same thing…

Curry, meanwhile, averages an impressive 31.2 points per match for the reigning champions, who have lost only once in 28 games so far this season. Outside of Josh Smith, there isn’t a true power forward on the roster, and Doc Rivers said prior to Friday’s game that Smith had played his way out of the rotation. Pierce and Redick each had 11 points in the third quarter and it seemed to turn the Clippers around. As Marc Spears of Yahoo Sports reports, Blake Griffin suffered a quadriceps injury in the win and is out indefinitely. Aside from some moments toward the end of the first half (a couple of threes), he remained off the floor, and off the board, for a considerable amount of the game. Los Angeles has won 14 times in its last 15 games against the Jazz.

Below is the complete list of the projected starters after the first returns of voting. “If physically I can’t play, if I’m not out there you know I physically can’t do it. If I’m able, I’m all for it.it’ll be fun to go out there and play of the guys and hang around them for one more time”. “Hopefully, we’ll put a bunch of them together and get in a good run”. Kobe got hot in the second quarter, scoring nine points in around two minutes. “If it was me, you kind of understand, you just tip the cap to a guy who has gone before you, who has paved the road for a lot of guys”. That was a 17 percent increase from the 9.3 million for the Cavaliers-Heat game past year. The Jazz, who were also shorthanded playing without Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors, shot 58.3 percent in the first half and 48.6 percent in the game. Clippers center DeAndre Jordan posted his 16th double-double of the season.