Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl

Things got a little physical during last night’s Lakers/Clippers game.  For anyone that says there’s not a rivalry between these 2 teams  is just plain crazy (Kobe doesn’t agree with me though).

Moments after the final buzzer sounded on the Los Angeles Lakers’ latest extravaganza of hard fouls, trash talk and outright wrestling matches with the Los Angeles Clippers, Pau Gasol might have topped it all when he patted Chris Paul on the head.  Check what Kobe had to say about everything after the jump…

No one had grown more weary of hearing Chris Paul’s name this season, and now no one had grown more weary of listening to Chris Paul on Wednesday night. As they walked down the floor in the final seconds, Pau Gasol listened to a barrage of disparaging words out of the mouth of the Los Angeles Clippers star, including the oldest-running, most-cutting shot of all.

Yes, Chris Paul called him soft. And, no, Gasol didn’t want to hear it. Gasol hasn’t forgotten the Lakers traded him for Paul, and he hasn’t forgotten most fans – and maybe most coaches and teammates, too – wish the NBA hadn’t voided the deal. He doesn’t forget it, and maybe this has something to do with him reaching down, patting Paul on the head late Wednesday and sending him into an absolute tirade.

“Don’t touch the top of my head like I’m one of your kids,” Paul seethed later.

Gasol swore no patronizing intent, but the message was unmistakable: Run along, Chris. Run along, Clippers. It was patronizing and it was the perfect punctuation for a 96-91 victory over the Clippers on a crazy Staples Center evening. The night ended with Bryant trying to calm down his buddy, Paul, only to fight back laughter as Paul ripped into Bryant about Gasol laying his hands on him.

“Pau’s not a patronizing guy,” Bryant told Yahoo! Sports. “I’d do some stuff like that, but not him. That’s just not him.

“Chris doesn’t like that stuff. He’s got that little-man complex. I do that to his head all the time. Man, he just hates it. But he’s a tough little [expletive], and he’s not going to let that [expletive] slide, accident or not.”

The Clips had come with a chip, trying to claim a legitimacy for themselves in Los Angeles. They hit hard, talked loudly and challenged the Lakers in ways that needed to be answered and addressed.

There were six technical fouls, a flagrant, an ejection, bodies tumbling to the floor and skirmishes everywhere. The Lakers had been wobbly with three straight losses, the Clippers wanted badly to lay them out and, eventually, the night would end with Bryant and Paul bickering at midcourt.

Rivalry?

“Please,” Bryant said. “We’ve got five championships. … Rivals come from the playoffs.”

There was something real in the Staples Center air, something to take, and the Lakers were desperate for a victory. Bryant had watched the Clippers challenge the Lakers everywhere, and watched it inspire something he desperately needed to see out of his teammates: resolve.

(STORY CONTINUES…)

WRITTEN BY Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports & FULL STORY HERE