page_title: Lakers–Clippers rivalry
section_title: 2013–2019: Roles reversed
hierarchical_section_title: Lakers–Clippers rivalry / History / 2013–2019: Roles reversed
caption_attribution_description: Los Angeles Clippers Blake Griffin during a game against the Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center in Washington on March 12, 2011.
context_page_description: The Lakers–Clippers rivalry is a National Basketball Association rivalry between the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers. The two Pacific Division teams both play their home games at Staples Center in Los Angeles, inspiring their matchups to sometimes be called the "Hallway Series". The Lakers relocated from Minneapolis in 1960, while the Clippers moved from San Diego in 1984. While Los Angeles fans have historically favored the Lakers, the Clippers have sold out every home game at Staples Center since Feb. 2011 and entered the 2016–17 season with the sixth-longest active sellout streak in the NBA. The Lakers have won 11 of their 16 NBA championships since moving to Los Angeles. Meanwhile, the Clippers have made the playoffs only eleven times since 1984 and were long considered the laughingstock of the NBA; in the history of the franchise, they have never advanced past the second round of the playoffs. Some contended that the term rivalry was inaccurate until the Clippers became more successful. The Clippers won the season series against the Lakers in 2012–13. Through the 2017–18 season, the Clippers have won six straight season series.
context_section_description: Starting with the 2010–11 season, Blake Griffin, with his highlight reel plays, helped draw interest in the Clippers. A turning point in the rivalry occurred before the following season, when the Lakers thought they had acquired Chris Paul in a trade from the New Orleans Hornets, but commissioner David Stern vetoed the trade and Paul was instead traded to the Clippers. Prior to Paul's arrival, the Clippers had the worst overall winning percentage in the NBA (.349) since they moved to Los Angeles, while the Lakers during that same period had the best (.659).
  In a game that season between the two teams won by the Clippers, tempers flared and seven technical fouls were called. Although it was a home game for the Clippers at Staples, Clippers fans were still outnumbered by Lakers fans. In a heated rematch won by the Lakers, ESPN wrote, "If the Staples co-tenants didn't have a rivalry before [the game], they have one now." Paul was upset after the game that Lakers forward Pau Gasol touched him on the head. "...don't touch the top of my head like I'm one of your kids", warned Paul. Some Clippers in 2012 denied that a rivalry existed. Griffin offered that "a rivalry has to be evenly matched, and this one hasn't been over the years." Clippers center DeAndre Jordan said the Lakers "are proven. They have more championships. They have Hall of Famer players. We're still a young team."
  The Clippers in 2011–12 had a winning record for only the third time since Donald Sterling bought the team in 1981 and made the playoffs for only the fifth time since moving to Los Angeles. The Clippers led the Lakers by ​2 ¹⁄₂ games in mid-February before the Lakers overtook them by one game for the Pacific Division title.
  For the first time in 2012–13, the Clippers, like the Lakers, had reasonable expectations to win an NBA championship. The Clippers signed former Lakers Ronny Turiaf, Matt Barnes, and Lamar Odom, who joined Caron Butler as Clippers who had played for the Lakers. Coach Mike Brown of the 0–2 Lakers called the 1–0 Clippers "a better team" prior to their first meeting. He added, "It's sort of a rivalry now, and so it will probably be a physical game." However, Brown likened the Clippers to his Cleveland Cavaliers teams with LeBron James trying to form a rivalry with the Boston Celtics despite Cleveland's lack of championships. Lakers fans booed the Clippers during warmups and player introductions, which Griffin did not witness before during his rookie season. He said Lakers fans "didn't really care" about the Clippers before, and he attributed the newfound attention to his team's turnaround. The Clippers won the game, dropping the Lakers to 0–3 for the first time in 34 years. The game was televised by ESPN and drew a 5.9 rating in Los Angeles, the network's highest-rated regular season game ever in the L.A. market. The Clippers later defeated the defending NBA champions, the Miami Heat, but the city was more engrossed in the Lakers' firing of Brown and the hiring of Mike D'Antoni. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra subsequently called the Clippers "legit contenders for the title", while Arash Markazi of  ESPN.com called them "the best team in L.A." Prior to their second meeting that season, the Clippers were 25–8 and fighting for the best record in the league, while the Lakers were 15–16—nine games behind the Clippers—and looking to secure a playoff spot in the Western Conference. For only the fourth time in their prior 127 meetings since they moved to Los Angeles, the Clippers had a better record than the Lakers entering their matchup when both teams had played 30 or more games. Prior to the game, Bryant called the Clippers "top contenders" for a championship. The Clippers won 107–102 in a nationally televised game that gave ESPN its best NBA regular-season overnight rating (2.7) in nearly two years. The local Los Angeles rating of 5.7 was the second highest ever behind the record set in the teams' previous meeting. The Clippers also won their third meeting, 125–101, after starting the game with a 15–0 lead. The win clinched the season series fo
caption: Blake Griffin's highlight plays renewed interest in the Clippers.
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