"Lakers-Clippers rivalry? Are you kidding? This is now officially a street fight.

It used to be all that mattered when the Clippers played the Lakers was whether Jack Nicholson bothered to show.

No more. This one clearly mattered. By the final period, there threatened to be more technical fouls and near-fights than basketball plays. The basketball wasn't that bad, either. Spectacular, actually, if you are measuring intensity. The Lakers will measure it any way you want. Led by that old hand, Kobe Bryant, they prevailed in a rough and rugged fourth period to win, 96-91."