LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 17: Kenyon Martin #3 of the New York Knicks looks on during the game between the Los Angeles Clippers and the New York Knicks at Staples Center on March 17, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2013 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)

The losing streak has reached four games.  The Knicks dropped the fourth game of their West Coast trip  to the Los Angeles Clippers by a score of 93-80.  Chris Paul was the game’s leading scorer with 20 points while passing off for eight assists.  Blake Griffin registered a double-double for the Clippers with 12 points and 12 rebounds while DeAndre Jordan just missed out on a double-double of his own with eight points and 10 rebounds.  The Knicks, playing without both Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler, were led by J.R. Smith’s 17 points off the bench.

First Quarter

Just as they did this past Thursday night against the Portland TrailBlazers, the Knicks actually got off to a nice start this afternoon.  The Knicks jumped out to an 8-1 lead thanks to an Iman Shumpert jumper to begin the game’s scoring and a couple of three-pointers from Chris Copeland and Raymond Felton.  They would eventually stretch their lead to eight (13-5) as the combination of Copeland and Felton scored on two more baskets, looking as if each would have a big game to help the Knicks sneak out of Los Angeles with a win.  Unfortunately, the good early vibes would disappear very quickly.  An 11-2 Clippers run gave them their first lead of the game at 16-15.  The Knicks would quickly grab the lead again on a Kenyon Martin layup but it would be their last lead of the game.  A 5-1 spurt from the Clippers to end the first quarter gave L.A. back the lead and they wouldn’t relinquish it the rest of the way.

Second Quarter

Even without their top three players and having already been blown-out in each of their first three games of the road trip, the Knicks fought hard in this game, at least in the first half.  After Smith scored the first two points of the second quarter, the Clippers scored four straight on a Chauncey Billups jumper and Lamar Odom layup to extend their lead to five, 25-20.  However, the Clippers had trouble extending that lead and the Knicks would eventually tie up the score at 31 on a Smith dunk attempt.  Only problem was that was as close as the Knicks would get to the Clippers the rest of the game.  A 13-6 Clippers run, powered by 11 combined points by Paul and former-Knicks Jamal Crawford helped L.A. take a 44-37 lead into halftime.

Third Quarter

The Knicks opened the second half trying to fight their way back into the game, scoring the first four points on jumpers from Copeland and Shumpert to cut their seven-point deficit to three.  Then the Clippers finally starting displaying the talent gap between them and the injury filled Knicks, going on an 11-1 run to push their lead to 13 highlighted by a textbook Paul to Griffin alley-oop.  The Knicks quieted the storm a bit, even as the Clippers extended the lead to 16.  With the score 60-47, Jason Kidd found his stroke, hitting on three straight from beyond the arc to help the Knicks get to within 12, 65-53.  However, a 7-0 run from the Clippers pushed their lead to biggest Knicks deficit of the night at 19.  The Knicks responded with a 7-0 run of their own, sparked by five Smith points, to end the third quarter down 72-60.

Fourth Quarter

The Clippers tried ending the game early in the final period, opening the quarter with another 7-0 run to again push their lead to 19.  The Knicks however did not go quietly, going on one last 14-5 run to cut their deficit to 10, 84-74.  The run was just too late, even as they eventually cut it to single digits at 89-80 with 1:56 left in the game.  The Knicks would not score again and the Clippers earned their second win against the Knicks this season, 93-80.

Notes:

• Despite leading the Knicks with 17 points, Smith had a terrible shooting game, going 4-for-20 from the floor.  Smith has shot 23-for-64 during the road trip (36%).
• Steve Novak finally broke out of his 0-for-12 slump, connecting on all three of his trey attempts.
• The starting PF/C combo of Kurt Thomas and Kenyon Martin couldn’t stay on the court consistently, as the two picked up nine fouls in their 45 combined minutes of play.  Martin did manage to haul in nine rebounds in his 28 minutes.
• Felton had a nice box score line (16 points, nine assists) but the load of his scoring came early when the Knicks built their 13-5 lead and late when the game was already decided.
• The Knicks will try to salvage the final game of their road trip tomorrow night against the last team they earned a win against: the Utah Jazz.  The Knicks could enter the game tied atop the Atlantic Division, if the Brooklyn Nets can earn a win against the Atlanta Hawks tonight.