Clippers embrace the hate, beat Sacramento Kings, 114-109

There’s possibly only one thing DeMarcus Cousins hates more than the Clippers: not being around to try to beat them.

The Sacramento Kings forward-center had to sit out the second half against his nemeses Saturday night at Staples Center after experiencing soreness in his right Achilles’ tendon, and what transpired afterward was somewhat surprising.

The Clippers barely held off the short-handed Kings during a 114-109 victory that probably won’t increase the likelihood of Cousins’ sending them a Christmas card.

It took Sacramento forward Rudy Gay’s missing a potential tying three-pointer with 37 seconds left and Blake Griffin’s capping his 37-point performance with two free throws for the Clippers to win their third consecutive game to start the season.

“The only thing encouraging about tonight is that we won,� Clippers Coach Doc Rivers said.

The Kings had plunked themselves into a caldron of contempt for the Clippers that already included Golden State, Memphis and Oklahoma City earlier in the week when Cousins refused to mask his disdain for his intrastate rivals.

“I hate ‘em,� Cousins said Wednesday after the Clippers’ season-opening victory in Sacramento. “Honestly I do. I hate ‘em.�

The Clippers’ recent success against the Kings surely has something to do with it. They have won 18 of the last 21 meetings between the teams, the latest triumph coming thanks largely to the continued superlative play of Griffin.

Griffin was strong across the board with nine rebounds and six assists and has averaged 35 points in his first two games this season against the Kings.

Cousins may have found the only way to stop Griffin when he wrapped his arms around him on a drive to the basket late in the second quarter. Cousins held onto Griffin in an apparent attempt to keep him from falling as he stumbled backward on top of Cousins, who even gave him a good-natured pat on the chest.

Cousins’ Achilles’ was soon noticeably bothering him as he limped around a bit and finished the game with 13 points and nine rebounds in 15 minutes.

Chris Paul had 17 points and 11 assists and J.J. Redick scored 23 points for the Clippers, who got an assist from the Kings’ Darren Collison when he intentionally fouled DeAndre Jordan with less than two minutes left in the game. That resulted in a technical foul on Sacramento and the Clippers retained possession after Redick made the resulting free throw. Jordan finished with 18 rebounds to go with 15 points and seven blocked shots.

There was certainly not much friendly banter earlier in the day when Kings Coach George Karl and Rivers rode on the same plane back from the funeral of longtime NBA coach Flip Saunders.

The coaches agreed not to watch game footage of each other’s team while working on their scouting reports. That became more difficult when Dallas Mavericks Coach Rick Carlisle, also a passenger on the plane, started watching film of the Kings playing the Lakers, his team’s next opponent.

Dislike for the Clippers is fairly common in the Western Conference.

Golden State and the Clippers probably don’t have a prayer of getting along after refusing to share pregame chapel together. Memphis and Oklahoma City developed disdain for the Clippers as a result of physical playoff series that involved as many elbows as points.

“I don’t need any more rivalries,� Rivers said earlier this week.

The Clippers appear to have one, whether they want it or not.

Follow Ben Bolch on Twitter @latbbolch