LOS ANGELES – Blake Griffin had 30 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, Eric Gordon scored 29 points in his return to the Clippers' lineup, and Los Angeles beat Cleveland 100-92 on Saturday to end a nine-game losing streak against the Cavaliers.
About an 1½ before tipoff, the arena was in lockdown while police subdued a knife-wielding man who got past security and ended up in front of the Cavaliers' bench. Both teams were safely tucked away in their dressing rooms during the tense standoff.
It did not delay the start of the game, which was followed by an NHL tilt between the Kings and Anaheim Ducks.
The Clippers' victory avenged a 126-119 overtime loss at Cleveland on Feb. 11, when the Cavs snapped their NBA-record 26-game losing streak. It was the first time the team with the league's worst record lost to the Clippers since Dec. 3, 2005 at Los Angeles.
J.J. Hickson led the Cavs with 28 points and nine rebounds, and Samardo Samuels scored 17 before fouling out with 1:19 remaining.
Gordon, the team's leading scorer, missed 18 games because of a sprained right wrist and small bone fracture that occurred on Jan. 22. He sat out the previous six games after aggravating the injury in his second game back.
Baron Davis, whom the Clippers traded to Cleveland on Feb. 24 in exchange for Mo Williams and Jamario Moon, did not play in his return to Staples Center because of back spasms. He scored three points in 14½ minutes for the Cavs on Thursday at Portland, after missing three games because of the death of his grandmother.
Williams had 11 points and five assists in his first game against his former teammates. Moon spent the entire game on the bench.
Los Angeles led 54-50 at halftime with 15 points each from Griffin and Gordon. Craig Smith scored six points during a 14-4 run that turned a one-point deficit into a 46-37 lead with 5½ minutes left in the second quarter. A dunk by Samuels got the Cavaliers as close as 47-46 with 3:15 left in the half, but the Clippers maintained their lead the rest of the game.
Los Angeles took an 82-78 advantage into the fourth and built it to 100-90 on a 3-pointer by Williams with 2:07 to play.
Notes: Griffin, the Clippers' All-Star rookie, failed to record a double-double for the sixth straight game. He had a streak of 27 in a row earlier this season, the longest by a rookie since Elvin Hayes' 60 in a row in 1968. ... Cleveland has to win 10 of its final 14 games to avoid its first 60-loss season since 2002-03, when the Cavaliers finished 17-65 before drafting LeBron James with the No.1 overall pick. The worst record in Cavaliers history was 15-67, which was set during the inaugural 1970-71 campaign and equaled in 1981-82. ... The Cavs came in 0-34 in games decided by double-digit margins — the only team in the league that hasn't won a game by at least 10 points. They also are the only club giving up an average of 10 or more points than they score. The next-closest team in that category is Washington (7.9).
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.