Lakers 119 - Clippers 82

The battle of L.A.! - Well,not really a battle these days. The Lakers are on top of the Western Conference and the Clippers are well, better than Seattle, Memphis and Minnesota.

The Lakers broke the game open in the third quarter by outscoring the Clippers 35-16. The Lakers led 49-41 at the half but with some superb three point shooting (12 - 17), the Lakers were able to expand their lead to 27 by the opening of the fourth quarter. When it was all over seven Lakers finished the game in double digit scoring. Fisher had 17, Bryant 16, Odom 15, Turiaf 13, Gasol 10, Radmanovich 10 and Farmar with 10. The final score was 119-82, a 37 point domination by the Lakers.

Maggette led the Clippers in the game with 22 points. Part of the Clippers terrible season has to do with their All-Star Elton Brand and Shawn Livingston sitting out the season. Kobe agrees "They'd be a different ballclub. They'd be right there with the rest of the West, no question about it," he said. "Injuries are tough, man, especially when you have a guy like E.B. and a young guy like Livingston go down. It makes things very difficult."