Gordon has 29 in return to lift Clippers (AP)

LOS ANGELES (AP)—Some strange things have happened to the Los Angeles
Clippers before, during and after games during the team’s 27 seasons in Los
Angeles—but nothing like this.

About 1 1/2 hours before their 100-92 victory over Cleveland on Saturday,
Staples Center was in lockdown while police subdued a man wielding a steak knife
in front of the Cavaliers’ bench. Both teams were safely tucked away in their
dressing rooms during the tense standoff before the culprit was subdued by a
beanbag gun, handcuffed and led away.

The incident did not delay the start of the game, which was followed by an
NHL contest between the Kings and Anaheim Ducks.

“That was crazy, man. There aren’t too many knife standoffs in Oklahoma—
not that I can remember. So it’s a first for me,” said Clippers rookie Blake
Griffin(notes), the former Sooners forward. “I was sitting in here next to D.J.
(DeAndre Jordan(notes)) and Randy Foye(notes) came in and said: `Yo, somebody just pulled a
knife.’ I was like, `What?’ And then they explained the whole thing. We were
trapped in here for a while. But both teams had to go through it, so it didn’t
really put us at a disadvantage.”

Coaches Vinny Del Negro of the Clippers and Byron Scott of the Cavaliers
requested some extra time for their teams to warm up, but were turned down by
the league office.

“We asked for 15 more minutes. In fact, we agreed on it—myself and Vinny
— and the NBA said five, which I don’t understand,” Scott said. “I mean,
either give us 15 or don’t give us any. What’s five minutes going to do? What
the hell is that? That didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me.

“It was a weird day, period,” Scott added. “You had things happen
throughout the day, but you’ve just got kind of put it in the back of your mind
and play basketball. And I think both teams did that.”

Griffin had 30 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, helping the
Clippers end a nine-game losing streak against the Cavaliers. Eric Gordon(notes) scored
29 points in his return to the lineup.

Los Angeles avenged a 126-119 overtime loss at Cleveland on Feb. 11 that
snapped the Cavs’ 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.

“Everybody was executing out there and hitting shots, and defensively we
stepped it up a little bit in transition,” Griffin said. “Anytime Eric’s out
there, it just opens up the court for everybody. He’s such a good scorer, he
puts a lot of pressure on teams. So teams have to know where he is at all
times.”

Gordon, the Clippers’ 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.

“I really tried to play with no restrictions,” Gordon said. “I tried not
to pay attention to it. If it gets knocked or banged, or if I land on the floor
wrong like I did the other two times, it is what it is. But I’ve just got to
keep on going out there and playing.”

J.J. Hickson(notes) led the Cavs with 28 points and nine rebounds, and Samardo
Samuels(notes) scored 17 before fouling out with 1:19 remaining.

Baron Davis(notes), whom the Clippers traded to Cleveland on Feb. 24 for Mo
Williams(notes) and Jamario Moon(notes), did not play in his return to Staples Center because
of back spasms. He scored three points in 14 1/2 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
team. Moon spent the entire game on the bench.

Los Angeles led 54-50 at halftime, sparked by 15 points each from Griffin
and Gordon. Craig Smith(notes) scored six points during a 14-4 run that turned a
one-point deficit into a 46-37 lead with 5 1/2 minutes left in the second quarter.

The Clippers carried an 82-78 lead into the fourth and increased it to
100-90 on a 3-pointer by Williams with 2:07 to play.

NOTES: Griffin 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(notes) 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.