"On this Saturday night, the city of Los Angeles belonged to the Clippers and not the Lakers.

And the brand new guard in L.A., the Clippers' Chris Paul, was just as masterful as the five-time champion from the Lakers, Kobe Bryant.

It was Paul's team that pulled out an impressive 102-94 victory over Bryant's Lakers at Staples Center, in a Clippers home game in the arena both teams share.

Paul scored to give the Clippers a 95-82 lead and then limped to the bench with a strained left hamstring with 4:01 left, never to return.

But he finished his night with 33 points on 12-for-22 shooting, plus six assists.

"I don't know what happened; I thought it was a cramp," Paul said. "I've never had this before. I'll just have to wait to see tomorrow what exactly is going on.""