Two NBA greats got to meet one last time on the hardwood, as the Los Angeles Clippers topped their neighbors down the hall Wednesday at the Staples Center, 91-81.

Before the Clips played the Lakers for the second time in as many days, Paul Pierce and Kobe Bryant embraced, cementing the final chapter of their careers together.

“It’s a sad day when you see one of the great players walk away from the game,” Paul said of Kobe earlier this season. “But everybody has their time.”

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Paul and Kobe have a colorful history. Together, they fueled one of the NBA’s most legendary rivalries. In 2008, Paul and the Boston Celtics conquered Kobe and the Lakers in six games of the NBA Finals for the title.

That was just one of many memories Kobe has given the basketball world in his 20-year career, and the Staples Center gave their respects with a thunderous cheers and a standing ovation Wednesday.

“There’s one

[home] game left,” said Kobe, who led all scorers with 17 points. “Kinda crazy.”

While Kobe tapped into his vintage self in his last game against the Clippers, Paul didn’t miss a beat in his first game back after missing four with a leg injury.

No. 34 scored in every quarter on his way to leading all LAC reserves with nine points.

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Four Clippers reached double-digit scoring: DeAndre Jordan and JJ Redick both finished with 15 points, while Chris Paul and Blake Griffin added 13 apiece.

The first quarter featured four lead changes, but Paul ended the period with an exclamation point, connecting on a fadeaway J to give the Clips a 29-25 advantage. Paul continued to convert early in the second stanza, draining a deep three, 35-30.

The Lakers tied the game two times thereafter before the Clippers ended the half with a 14-2 outburst. Redick highlighted the run with eight points, including a triple to go into the break, 54-42.

The Lakers couldn’t pull within single digits the rest of the way, as they lost their franchise-worst 62nd game of the season. The Clippers pushed their lead to as many as 17 in the third quarter before coach Doc Rivers pulled his starters for the fourth.

Paul topped his night of scoring with a pull-up triple off the glass in the final frame, 85-68.

NEXT UP

The Clippers (50-28) are locked into the fourth in the Western Conference. They have four games remaining and are comfortably nine games ahead of the fifth-place Memphis Grizzlies. They’re 3.5 games behind the Oklahoma City Thunder, but with just three games remaining on OKC’s schedule, the best L.A. could do is tie the Thunder’s record. But with OKC already having locked up its divisional crown, the Clips have no hope for winning a tiebreaker over the Thunder.

They travel to Utah to take on the Jazz, who are fighting for the eighth and final spot in the playoffs. The Clips look to clinch the series after dropping their first meeting 102-91 in November and taking their second 109-104 in December. Paul scored a season-high 20 points in the latter, going 5-of-7 from downtown.

After Utah, the Clips return home for games against the Dallas Mavericks (40-38) on April 10 and the Memphis Grizzlies (42-36) on the 12th. The Clippers conclude their regular season in Phoenix against the Suns (20-58) the next day.

WESTERN CONFERENCE STANDINGS – 4/7

1. y – Golden State Warriors (69-9)

2. y – San Antonio Spurs (65-12) 3.5 GB

3. y – Oklahoma City Thunder (54-25) 15.5 GB

4. x – Los Angeles Clippers (50-28) 19 GB

5. Memphis Grizzlies (42-36) 27 GB

6. x – Portland Trail Blazers (43-37) 27 GB

7. Dallas Mavericks (40-38) 29 GB

8. Utah Jazz (39-39) 30 GB

——-Playoff cutoff——-

9. Houston Rockets (38-40) 31 GB

y – Clinched division

x – Clinched playoff berth

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