USA Today: Rookie Al Thornton scored 10 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter and Corey Maggette had 22, leading the Los Angeles Clippers to a 112-96 victory over the Lakers on Sunday night.
Jordan Farmar had 19 points, five assists and six rebounds for the Lakers, who got 16 points from Andrew Bynum. Kobe Bryant, Bynum’s most vocal critic last season, played 17 minutes and had 10 points while hitting 1 of 4 shots.
Clippers center Chris Kaman picked up his fifth foul with 5:23 left in the third quarter and his team ahead 77-68, but the Lakers couldn’t capitalize. They got as close as seven points on Maurice Evans’ dunk with 4:08 left in the third, but the Clippers broke it open in the fourth with the help of Thornton, Cuttino Mobley and backup point guard Dan Dickau.
Mobley, playing his second game of the preseason after returning from a strained left calf, extended the margin to 96-81 on a 15-footer and a driving layup with 8:52 remaining after missing his first five shots.
The Clippers increased a six-point halftime lead to 73-58 with a dunk by Paul Davis off an alley-oop pass from Sam Cassell with 5:42 left in the third quarter. Lakers backup point guard Sasha Vujacic trimmed the margin to 73-62 with a four-point play, draining a 3-pointer from the right sideline while he was hacked by Thornton with 5:23 left in the third.
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