Clippers hold off Lakers 94-84 in Bryant’s last Christmas game

An MRI exam revealed that All-Star forward Blake Griffin had suffered a torn left quadriceps tendon the previous day against the Lakers and would be sidelined at least two weeks.

J.J. Redick scored 25 points and Paul Pierce had 20, leading the Clippers to a 109-104 victory over the Utah Jazz on Saturday night.

Clippers forward Blake Griffin said before Friday’s game that a player of Bryant’s stature should be met with deference and understanding from other deserving players.

With 23.2 points on 50.7 percent shooting, 8.7 rebounds and five assists per game, he’s once again having a stellar season.

“The Clippers were without Griffin for 15 games last season as he recovered from staph infection and they went 9-6 in that stretch”.

The Clippers’ starters, ticketed to sit out the fourth quarter after building an 85-57 lead, rushed back into the game after backup Lakers guards D’Angelo Russell and Marcelo Huertas made a late impact.

It didn’t happen. The Lakers are now 5-25. Bradley, who played at Bellarmine Prep, scored 18 points while Thomas, a former Washington Husky, had 17 points and nine assists. If the Clippers had just kept their composure in that game, the big lead that they’d accumulated would’ve meant something.

Jordan wasn’t quite as strong against the Jazz but finished with 14 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks.

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

“As much as the Celtics hate us and we hate them, I think Celtics fans are some of the most knowledgeable fans in the world, so I think they’ll gave him the same type of respect that he deserves, that he’s been given everywhere else”, Scott said Saturday at practice. “We were really looking forward to it. Most of the time you enjoy the time in the morning with your family, but for that game, we were all a little chippy”.

Paul Pierce – “It’s just good to get a win, especially without one of our leaders and go-to scorers out there and the second game of the road trip”. Guards Trey Burke and Joe Ingles each made 3-pointers to help Utah close the quarter on a 7-0 run and cut its deficit to 79-77.

“They both came out ready to play”, coach Byron Scott told the Lakers’ official website.

“We got tentative”, coach Quin Snyder said. I’m pretty sure he’s happy with how he’s playing. “I thought it was just all on the defensive end”.