LOS ANGELES (AP)— Kobe Bryant had 16 points and eight rebounds, Andrew Bynum added 12 points and nine rebounds, and the Lakers spoiled the Clippers season opener with a 117-79 rout Wednesday night.
The Lakers began their season with a similar blowout a night earlier, breezing to a 96-76 win at home against Portland on Tuesday.
As they did against the Trail Blazers, the Lakers got deep and balanced scoring and played scrappy defense. They held the Clippers to 38 percent shooting while shooting 51 percent themselves.
Derek Fisher scored 15 in the victory, including going 3-of-6 as the Lakers finished 10-of-19 from 3-point range. Pau Gasol added 13 points, Jordan Farmar 15, and Trevor Ariza had 11 points and six rebounds. Chris Mims scored most of his 10 points during mop-up time.
Bynum, back after a knee injury last January sidelined him for the rest of the season, went 4-of-7 from the floor and helped jam up the middle on defense, blocking three shots.
The new-look Clippers looked essentially like their usual sub .500 selves, no match for the talent and versatility of the defending Western Conference champion Lakers.
Baron Davis had 11 points on 4-of-13 shooting in his Clippers’ debut, with seven assists. Al Thornton scored 16, and Cuttino Mobley and Tim Thomas each had 11.
The Clippers, who lost longtime mainstay Elton Brand and Corey Maggette among others during the offseason, have nine newcomers who played for other teams last season.
Davis played just one preseason game because of a finger injury, and another new addition, Marcus Camby, is out with a bruised right heel.
Down 33-32, the Lakers got some spark from the reserves and reeled off a 24-6 string beginning with Farmar’s running jumper with 8:18 remaining in the second quarter. Ariza scored eight points during the run and Farmar had five points, three assists and a rebound.
That helped the Lakers open a 56-39 lead with 1:06 remaining and they were up 59-44 at halftime.
They outscored the Clippers 26-13 in the third quarter and were up 85-57 heading into the final 12 minutes.
Ariza hit a 3-pointer at the first quarter buzzer to give the Lakers a 30-27 lead. The Lakers had jumped out to a 16-7 lead in the first five minutes, but the Clippers chipped away and went ahead 27-26 on Al Thornton’s driving layup with 1:37 left in the period.
Notes
Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said before the game that he thinks the Lakers may be the best in the league. “Defensively they should be one of the top three teams and then they’ve got Kobe Bryant at the end of the game to cancel all bets,” Dunleavy said. “If I’m picking, that’s who I’m picking to win it all if they’re healthy.” … The Clippers finished 23-59 last season while the Lakers kept going until they lost to Boston in the NBA finals. … The Lakers went 4-0 against the Clippers last season, winning by an average of 26 points.
