PLAYA VISTA, Calif. — No one wants to talk about a rivalry. To the Los Angeles Clippers, Round 2 of their head's up battle with the Lakers on Wednesday night is just another game.
Just another game? Fat chance.
The first time they played, Jan. 14, there were five technical fouls. Lakers coach Mike Brown was hopping mad after Clippers forward Blake Griffin knocked Lakers rookie Darius Morris to the floor late in the first quarter but wasn't hit with a technical.
The game was intense at times, and the Clippers' 102-94 win allowed them to claim a small piece of Staples Center turf. But they prefer not to elevate the series into anything beyond what it is — a regular-season contest.
"I wouldn't call it a rivalry," Clippers forward Blake Griffin said. "People want it to get to that because we're in the same city, but it's not a rivalry. They've dominated over the past how many years. We're just trying to be a solid team and win games."
The Clippers have been doing that, even without point guard Chris Paul, who has missed the past five games because of a strained left hamstring. He practiced Tuesday, but coach Vinny Del Negro said he wants to see how Paul feels after a morning shoot-around before deciding if, and how much, he'll play.
"He looked better, but it's a gradual thing, especially with a hamstring," Del Negro said. "This is the first time he's practiced for a while, so I want to see if there's any swelling, any issues, any discomfort. If there's any question at all, then it has to be evaluated."
Paul's last game was against the Lakers when he put a season-high 33 points with 6 assists and 3 steals. But, like Griffin, he downplays any notion that the two teams are building a rivalry.
"It's fun. That's all I can say on my end," he said. "The excitement behind the city — this is my first time being a part of something like this here in LA. It'll be our second game; we won the first one. It was our home court in a sense, and tomorrow will be their home court. We need to get this one."
Griffin has been at the center of two exchanges with the Lakers — his takedown of Morris was preceded by a claim from Lakers forward Matt Barnes that Griffin flops in an effort to draw fouls. Barnes made his comments after the second preseason game with the Clippers.
"I don't really have much to say to him or to that," said Griffin, who had 22 points and 14 rebounds in their first meeting. "If he's mad that I tried to take a charge, so be it. I'm not ever going to get into trash talking and going back and forth about it. If that's what he feels, that's what he feels. I know I didn't flop the last game."
Griffin also said he wasn't intentionally trying to hurt Morris when the Lakers rookie tried to dunk the ball after the whistle had been blown. Griffin said he did the same thing in a preseason game in his first year but was warned by teammates Marcus Camby and Chris Kaman not to do it.
"They both said to me, ‘Hey, whenever you hear the whistle, stop. Don't go up and try to dunk. You're going to get hurt.' From then on, I knew that's what happens.
"I wasn't trying to hurt him. I know Darius. We're cool. But looking at the tape, I don't even see an area where you could say I was trying to hurt him. I know the way he fell maybe looked a little awkward. If that's something that's lingering, I have no idea why."
Maybe it's because there's an underlying testiness between the two teams. They share the same arena, their locker rooms are just a few yards apart, and their fans want to claim LA. as theirs alone. The Lakers are used to being on top, but they're struggling through a three-game losing streak and are 10th in the Western Conference standings. The Clippers are third at 9-5.
"We just look at the Lakers as another Western Conference team that we have to play against and try to beat," center DeAndre Jordan said. "No disrespect to those guys at all, but I don't look at it as us trying to take over or anything like that. We just really want to play against those guys and get better and try to get a win."
It will help if Paul is healthy enough to play. He said he felt fine after Tuesday's practice and has been anxious to play for some time. But at the team's insistence, he's being cautious.
"They've been trying to protect me from myself because I've been wanting to go for a while," he said. "But the team has been unbelievable and knowing what's in my best interests. So we'll see how it goes tomorrow."
Paul, who hadn't been made available to the media since his injury, did confirm one Internet story — at least partially. He said he found a home, although he did not say if it was the Bel-Air mansion of singer Avril Levigne. The purchase price was reported as $8.5 million.
"I know where I'm living at," Paul said, smiling. "I found a home, so I'm glad to sort of try to start living here in LA. I'm finally out of a hotel."
