Kings, Clippers clash in California capital

(SportsNetwork.com) - The Los Angeles Clippers will take their act to the road when they visit the Pacific-rival Sacramento Kings Wednesday night.

The Clippers ended a two-game slide with Tuesday's 99-92 victory over the Charlotte Hornets and were led by Blake Griffin's 19 points and 11 rebounds in his second game back from elbow surgery.

DeAndre Jordan posted 12 and 14 boards for the Clippers, who won for the sixth time in the last 10 tries and are even with the Dallas Mavericks for the fifth seed in the Western Conference.

J.J. Redick scored a game-high 23 points and Chris Paul netted 20 in the win.

"Right now is when teams start finding themselves," said Paul. "We're just trying to win games. We haven't locked down a playoff spot yet."

Clippers forward Matt Barnes (hamstring) did not dress and is listed as questionable Wednesday night.

Los Angeles is 18-15 on the road and will play its next two games at home versus Washington and New Orleans.

Sacramento opened a five-game homestand with a 110-103 loss to the Eastern Conference-leading Atlanta Hawks on Monday. DeMarcus Cousins led the hosts with 20 points and 13 rebounds for his 41st double-double. He has posted seven double-doubles in the last nine games.

Jason Thompson scored 18 points off the bench, while Andre Miller and Omri Casspi had 16 apiece in the loss. The Kings were coming off a 2-6 road trip and fell to 13-20 at home.

"They're a good basketball team," Kings coach George Karl said of the Hawks. "They're confident."

Karl is 4-10 since taking over as coach.

Sacramento's Rudy Gay was sidelined with a strained left patellar tendon and is questionable Wednesday. Gay is averaging 24.9 ppg in the last seven games and Cousins is also questionable with a calf strain.

The Kings, who have scored 100 or more points in six of the last seven contests, will also host Charlotte, Washington and Philadelphia.

LA is 2-1 against Sacramento this season and has won 15 of the last 18 meetings between division foes. The Clippers are unbeaten in the last four trips to California's capital.