With the emergence of the Los Angeles Clippers becoming a legit threat in the western conference and with the Lakers battling age, the battle for L.A. seems to be shifting into the Clippers favor for the first time in both franchises history.

With Friday's head-to-head matchup bringing some excitement to the fans this weekend, the Lakers Kobe Bryant is more excited about being the "road" team.

With his extremely competitive nature, it's no question that Bryant likes silencing crowds, but he revealed that after Madison Square Garden, his second favorite place to on the road is at Staples Center, according to ESPN L.A.

"When this building turns into the Clipper building, it's probably my second favorite place to play after New York," Bryant said. "They do a really good job and have a lot of energy in the building."

"At least when they play us, the years I've been in the league, even when they were awful, it was always a fun place to play because the fans really got into it and it was one of those city rivalry type of games. It's always been a fun place for me to play."

This year the Clippers no longer are looking as if their the younger brother to the Lakers, with the second best record in the league at 25-7, it appears the Clippers are in the midst of a hostile takeover. Before a loss to the Denver Nuggets Tuesday, the Clippers were having a historic December winning a franchise best 17 straight games.

Bryant credits point guard Chris Paul for changing the culture and attitude of the Clippers.

"He's just a moody, little dude," Bryant said of Paul. "He's just a moody, little dude. He's very feisty and he plays with a chip on his shoulder, and I think that becomes infectious."

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