-The Toronto Raptor's struggles continued, as they dropped their 8th consecutive game 103 to 91 at the hands of the upstart Los Angeles Clippers. The game was not as close as the score indicates-the Raptors took advantage of extended garbage minutes to close the gap a bit in the fourth quarter.
-The Raptors once again got out to an awful start, scoring just 11 points in the opening Q. They dug themselves a 16 point hole which, in the end, they were unable to dig themselves out of. This is the 4th time in their last 5 games that the Dinos were unable to reach the 14 point plateau in the first quarter.
-Heading into the game the starting front court battle was going to be a key for the Raptors if they hoped to steal one from the Clippers sans Chris Paul; unfortunately, the Clippers absolutely dominated that matchup. DeAndre Jordan went for 16 points and 16 rebounds, and Blake Griffin scored 18 points and grabbed 9 rebounds. Conversely the Raptors got relatively little out of their starters. Amir Johnson played just 6 minutes, scoring a single point and grabbing a solitary rebound. Ed Davis fared slightly better, grabbing 5 rebounds and scoring 7 points.
-The Raptors offensive woes continued without their leading scorer Andrea Bargnani in the lineup. The Raptors shot just 35% from the floor and 38% from beyond the arc. DeMar DeRozan had another rough shooting night, hitting on just 4 of his 19 shot attempts and tallying 15 points. The other Raptor starters, James Johnson and Jose Calderon combined to shoot 4-16 and scored just 10 points between the two of them.
-The Raptors bench provided the lone bright spots for the club. Leandro Barbosa scored a team high 19 points and Linas Klieza added 16 points of his own, looking much more fluid on the offensive end. Aaron Gray also showed signs of coming around; he grabbed 8 rebounds in 15 minutes of work.
-In the end, the Clippers got great performances out of their front court starters and a nice one-two scoring punch off the bench from Caron Butler and Mo Williams who combined for 41 points to sink the Raptors at the Staples Center. The Raptors will now look to end their 8 game losing streak on Tuesday night in Phoenix against the Suns