"We came out sluggish after the long road
trip," said Del Negro, whose team just completed a 4-2 trip. "We didn't
have great ball movement, but the guys gutted it out and I thought
Kenyon came out and controlled the defensive end of the game for us. He
caused problems for their transition game and got a big steal for us.
It's just all the little things he does that make him important.”
Newcomer
Martin, playing just his seventh game for the Clippers, says he and his
teammates have to play tougher defense. Los Angeles gives up an average
of 96 points to rank 18th out of 30 teams and is 20th in rebounding at
41.7 per game. Not good enough for the former All-Star.
"We've got
to learn how to defend, like my days in New Jersey," said Martin, who
twice went to the Finals with the Nets. "The guys are coming together,
but it seems like they're learning on the fly. We've got to get more
solid defensive play, and that's why I'm here."
Early on it was
tougher than it should have been for a first-place Clippers team that
was 17-9 going against a Wizards team that was 3-10 away from home.
Before the game they talked about how great it was to be home again,
sleeping in their own beds and once again roaming the hallways and floor
at Staples Center. "We talked a lot about not having a letdown," Del
Negro said.
However, LA led just 50-47 at halftime, and it looked
like John Wall and Co. were capitalizing on the shaky legs of a team not
heeding its coach's warning.
But Caron Butler hit three of his
five 3-pointers in the second half and Randy Foye scored all 10 of his
points in the fourth quarter as the Clippers pulled away.
"Some of
the other guys came through, too, with Randy getting hot in the fourth
and Chris (Paul) also taking control of the game when we needed him to,”
Del Negro said. “And Caron hit some big shots when we were stagnant."
Blake
Griffin had another double-double, his 18th, scoring 23 points with 15
rebounds, while Paul had 16 points and nine assists. Mo Williams came
off the bench to score 11. Butler has 14 3-pointers in the past three
games.
Griffin, who had his first triple-double against the
Wizards last season, was a little surprised that they were able to hang
around as long as they did.
"We all came out ready to play," he
said, "but we just gave up too many easy baskets in the first half. I
thought we did a good job in the second half and my teammates found me
for some easy baskets. And we locked it down on defense (in the fourth
quarter).
"It all starts with defense for us, and it gets us out
on transition for those easy baskets. We have to make sure that we do a
good job locking down and running our rotations."
Griffin said that playing in front of the home crowd was a definite motivator.
"It
was nice to be home, no question. Our fans are great,” he said. “But
we've got another tough game in Portland (Thursday) night. We have to be
ready to go up there and get a win."
Griffin went on to say how
nice it will be when they finally can stay home for more than a day or
two at a time. Unfortunately that won't be anytime soon, as they're in
the midst of an 18-game stretch in which they play 14 on the road,
including 8 of the next 11.
