(The Sports Xchange) – The Los Angeles Clippers returned their Christmas gift.
Three weeks after losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in the prime time holiday game, the Clippers handed the Lakers a 113-97 beating in the rematch on Saturday at Staples Center.
The Lakers’ win on Christmas Day was one of only two they had in 16 December games and ended an 11-game winning streak for the Clippers in the L.A. rivalry.
But the Clippers were without Chris Paul and Blake Griffin due to injuries that day and lost J.J. Redick to a hamstring injury in mid-game.
Griffin remains out, recovering from knee surgery, but Paul and Redick were back at full strength for the rematch as the Clippers (28-14) extended their January win streak to six games.
The Lakers (15-29), meanwhile, have gone 3-4 in January after a 2-14 December.
The Clippers re-asserted their dominance in the rivalry quickly Saturday.
Even with Paul and Redick hitting a combined 4-of-15 in the first half, the Clippers got off to a 10-4 start, went on an 11-0 run later in the first quarter (with Austin Rivers scoring nine points in the opening quarter) and built a 58-39 halftime lead.
Clippers center DeAndre Jordan had a double-double by halftime (12 points and 10 rebounds) and finished with a game-high 24 points on 12-of-13 shooting and added 21 rebounds for his second 20-20 game of the season.
The Lakers made what amounted to their only move of the day at the start of the second half.
With Brandon Ingram and Nick Young hitting back-to-back threes, they started the third quarter with a 10-2 run that cut the Clippers lead to 11, 60-49.
But the Clippers responded with a 7-1 run of their own and the Lakers were never as close again.
After his slow shooting start, Paul finished with 20 points and 13 assists for the Clippers. Austin Rivers and Raymond Felton finished with 15 points each.
For the Lakers, their best production came from the bench as Jordan Clarkson led them with 21 points.
