LOS ANGELES (AP) --
Eric Bledsoe
made a name for himself during the Los Angeles Clippers' playoff run
last season. The third-year guard gained valuable confidence that is
paying off.
Bledsoe narrowly missed recording a triple-double, finishing with 22
points, 11 assists and nine steals in the Clippers' 97-91 win over the
Lakers on Wednesday night that kept their Staples Center co-tenant
winless in seven preseason games.
''Just having fun,'' Bledsoe said, recalling his only triple-double
came in high school. ''I thought I was going to be a little winded, but I
wasn't.''
He played more than 43 minutes on a night when the Clippers' All-Star guard
Chris Paul sat out. Paul's counterpart on the Lakers,
Kobe Bryant,
missed his second preseason game with a strained and bruised right
foot. Paul rested after being hit accidentally by a teammate in
practice.
Dwight Howard was rested while recovering from general soreness after his Lakers debut on Sunday.
The Lakers won't have Bryant for their final exhibition against
Sacramento on Thursday night in San Diego, while Paul will play the
Clippers' finale in Denver that night.
''We had a lot of guys out and so did they so I didn't put a lot of
stock in the outcome of this game,'' Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro
said.
Bledsoe came into his own in the Clippers' 4-0 second-round playoff
loss against the Spurs, averaging 11. 5 points while shooting 70 percent
from the floor and 50 percent from 3-point range.
''The playoffs last year was huge for him and really gave him the confidence,''
Blake Griffin said. ''He knows his role and he understands what his main job is. He's had experience playing when CP is out.''
Matt Barnes added 18 and Griffin had 15 points for the Clippers.
''Anytime these two teams match up, being where the Clippers are now, it's going to be intense,'' said Barnes, a former Laker.
Pau Gasol led six Lakers in double figures with 17 points. Rookie Robert Sacre of Gonzaga, starting in place of
Dwight Howard, and Metta World Peace had 13 each.
Jordan Hill added 12. Steve Blake and Jodie Meeks, who started in place of Bryant, had 11 each.
Steve Nash, who had four points and seven assists for the Lakers, wasn't happy about dropping to 0-7.
''Obviously I'd like to have some wins under our belt, but we're going to worry about our record when it counts,'' he said.
The Lakers committed 20 turnovers - five by Sacre - that led to 33 points by the Clippers.
''Some of it is we're trying to work through a new offense,'' Nash said. ''There's other situations where we're just careless.''
The Clippers opened the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run, including
four by Bledsoe, to take an 80-73 lead. Blake hit a 3-pointer that drew
the Lakers within one before rookie Travis Leslie ran off six in a row
to keep the Clippers ahead 91-86.
Former UCLA player Ryan Hollins made consecutive baskets, extending
the Clippers' lead to 95-88. World Peace missed two 3-point attempts on
the same possession and then Blake lost the ball with a bad pass in the
closing 2 minutes.
''Luckily it's preseason. We just got to learn from these,'' Sacre
said. ''Make your mistakes in the preseason and you can always get
better.''
Both teams tried numerous lineup combinations during the game, with
the Clippers resting Jamal Crawford, Lamar Odom and Grant Hill. Chauncey
Billups is still a ways away from returning after a torn Achilles
tendon.
The Lakers led 68-60 with less than 5 minutes to go in the third. The
Clippers' second unit outscored them 12-6, including five each by
Barnes and Willie Green, to trail 73-72 going into the fourth.
Paced by 10 points each from Griffin, Bledsoe and Barnes, the Clippers led 49-40 at halftime.
NOTES: Howard wore a three-piece suit on the bench, while Bryant
didn't sit with the Lakers, but was in the building. ... The Clippers
beat the Lakers twice when they met during last year's lockout-shortened
preseason in December. ... Rapper-actor Common and former NFL star
Terrell Owens attended as part of the sellout crowd of 19,060.
