My experience at the Clips/Lakers game

That game was one of the funner games I've been to, right up there with the Memphis game where the Clippers erased a 20 point deficit in the 4th. After parking, my dad and I were walking toward Staples and we noticed a lot of cops, tickets sellers, and people. As we got to Staples there were so many people, and I'm not used to seeing so many people at Staples because not many people go to Clipper games. I laughed when we got to our seats because among the Clipper decorations there was a sea of yellow. I did not expect to see so many Laker fans. I want to say it was 80/20 Laker fans to Clipper fans, but it was probably 70/30. There were two Clipper fans in my section.

When Kaman got fouled early in the game, he was booed at the foul line. The cheers were louder when Lamar Odom made a basket compared to when Steve Blake made a basket. 

There were a couple moments when Laker fans went completely quiet. The first was when Mardy Collins made that crazy layup and the foul. Then, DJ got that lob. Then Kaman drove past Gasol and slammed it down. But the best moment was Outlaw's dunk. I had a good view of Steve Blake lobbing it to Trout and I saw how it was off-line, but Outlaw dunked it so hard and so fast I could barely see it. It was vicious. (Here's a video: Mardy is #8 and Outlaw is #3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kw55-u4RRA)

Another fun moment was when Steve Blake picked Derek Fisher's pocket, and the Fisher did one of his dirty fouls on him. It seems like Steve Blake is always causing tension, lol.

Throughout the game, these Laker fans behind me had some weird conversations. They started out talking about how the Clippers were lame, bla bla bla, and they mentioned how Adam Morrison and Derek Fisher were terrible and should be traded to the Clippers. When the Clippers had a good 12 point gap on the Lakers, every time the Lakers made a basket one guy would go, "We're back in the game". He must have said that 5 times. When it was clear the game was out of reach, his friend said, "I'm mad, I'm going to go on a Clipper rampage. The cops can't stop me". It was annoying to listen to.

DJ played well with 10 first half points, but he had some foul trouble so he was subbed in and out a lot in the 2nd half. Travis Outlaw also played well in the 2nd half, and he ended up with a double-double. Mardy played well, and it was surprising to see him considering Bobby Brown played the point the previous games. He still can't hit a jumpshot though. Craig Smith looked animated out there, and got some good buckets when we needed some energy in the 3rd and 4th. He was also sporting a mohawk. Steve Novak was fun to watch too. He had this one play where he faked out a Laker (Brown, maybe?) and shot it over him. It was impressive.

Around the 3rd quarter my dad and I were talking about how it seemed like Steve Blake was getting a lot of rebounds. It seemed like he was always waiting around the basket for those boards. 

I think it was in the 3rd where Travis Outlaw and Lamar Odom got T'd up. Anyone know what that was about? (Again, Portland guy causing tension, lol)

During one of the breaks they showed a sleeping Laker fan on the screen. That was funny.

At the end of the 4th, Steve Blake fouled so he and Outlaw could get a standing ovation as they subbed out. That was nice to see, except it wasn't very loud because most Laker fans had left and there weren't much Clipper fans. (Kaman didn't get one because he was already on the bench, lol). When they announced Blake was subbing out, they showed on the screen that he had a triple-double, but didn't announce it. 

Ultimately, it was a great way to end the season. It may have cost us a couple ping pong balls, but it was worth it to beat the Lakers and have all their fans who showed up to the Clipper home game disappointed. I'm also glad Kim Hughes's last game was a win. 

Edit: Here are some pictures of the game. There are a bunch of Outlaw dunk. For the first picture, look at the guy in the blue shirt at the right.