LOS ANGELES — For the Lakers, Anthony Davis and Rui Hachimura are on their way. Perhaps as soon as Wednesday night, according to a TNT report.
But for Tuesday night’s game against the Clippers, both of the key frontcourt pieces that could help during the stretch run could only watch, folding their arms from their courtside seats.
The Clippers (26-24) have dominated the Battle of L.A. for the past three years, and they owned it again on Tuesday in a 133-115 win over the Lakers (22-26) at Crypto.com Arena – using an unconscionable 3-point shooting display to get well ahead in the first half, then closing the door in the second with both of their stars on the floor.
Point guard Paul George had 27 points and nine rebounds, and Kawhi Leonard had 25 points and nine rebounds as the Clippers – using this starting lineup for only the fourth time and not even being able to finish with the same group – gutted out their 10th consecutive victory against their in-city rivals (five of which have been decided by 10 points or more).
They had to survive a 46-point outburst from LeBron James, but Leonard was front and center as they held off the Lakers from closing within even single digits in the closing frame.
“Kawhi is a closer,” George said. “He’s super consistent. We knew we just couldn’t allow LeBron to take over the game. Like we had to attack and be effective on the other side as well.”
The Clippers made 15 of their 19 total 3-pointers before halftime to log their third straight victory and move into fifth place in the Western Conference standings. Clippers coach Ty Lue has been the constant during the streak, with a perfect 10-0 record against the Lakers since he took over from Doc Rivers in 2020.
Neither of the Clippers stars was the best player on the floor: James was a force for the Lakers, making all kinds of history as he continues his torrid pursuit of the NBA’s career scoring record. James’ 101st career 40-point game (including the postseason) leaves him 178 short of breaking Abdul-Jabbar’s regular-season mark (38,387 points), putting him in position to potentially reach the milestone toward the end of the Lakers’ upcoming five-game road trip instead of at home.
The home crowd got riled up in the fourth quarter as the once 23-point Clipper lead was whittled by a pair of James dunks and his ninth 3-pointer. The sequence made James the first player to score at least 40 points against all 30 NBA franchises, and the 3-pointer set his new single-game career-high for 3-point baskets. It was James’ fourth game of at least 40 points since he turned 38 on Dec. 30.
“Yeah, I wanted Bron to get 40 so he could have 40 against every team,” Clippers coach Ty Lue deadpanned, before allowing himself to laugh. “He had a great shooting night and we just tried to take everybody else out and let LeBron go one-on-one. He beat us tonight with scoring to the basket, but we were able to come out with the win. So that was the most important thing.”
The Lakers, who never led, cut the deficit to 10 points thanks to an 11-0 run. But critical turnovers undercut the effort – Russell Westbrook threw an inbounds lob that was intercepted by George, and while it seemed Dennis Schröder might recover it on the other end, Leonard got the steal and drew an and-1 foul on the basket to stem the rising threat.
Reggie Jackson (19 points) added a 3-pointer and Leonard added a dunk to push the lead back to 18 points with five minutes remaining. With a game to play tomorrow night against San Antonio, that was the moment when Lakers coach Darvin Ham decided to substitute in his reserves – there would be no magical comeback, like the one Sunday night in Portland, when the Lakers rallied from a 25-point halftime hole to win.
“That was me making an executive decision,” Ham said. “Our guys are highly competitive. They don’t want to just throw in the towel that easily. But I thought better of it and I pulled the plug.”
That wasn’t the end of the fireworks, however. Westbrook and Schröder appeared to shout at one another after Ham subbed them off. End-of-game hiccups have been a common ailment for the Lakers this season, and frustration could be seen on James’ face as he slumped in his chair.
When asked what the common thread between the Clippers’ 10 straight victories under Lue has been, James was in no mood for nuance: “I don’t know. They’ve been better than us.”
Schröder said later that his frustration with his own mistake of fouling Leonard fueled the impassioned interaction, but that he and Westbrook were ready to move forward.
“End of the day, he’s my big brother, and you gotta have conversations like that sometimes,” he said. “We’re on the same page now, and try to compete tomorrow.”
For the Clippers, the offensive outburst was gravy: They wound up shooting 60.7% from the field and making half of their 38 3-point attempts. They managed to hit more field goals (51) than the Lakers (42) despite their opponent taking 11 more attempts. It was the second-most points the Clippers have scored this season.
A lot of that was built in the first half, when the Clippers opened a 77-54 lead thanks to shooting 15 for 23 from behind the arc.
Norm Powell capped a wild first half with a 28-foot pull-up jumper with 2.5 seconds left before the buzzer. The Clippers’ first-half total of 15 made 3-pointers was as many as they’ve attempted in the first half of any game this season – they’ve only made more than that in seven entire games.
The silver lining for the Lakers is that Davis and Hachimura could both play Wednesday on the second night of the back-to-back. Ham confirmed Hachimura should make his Lakers debut after being acquired in a trade from the Washington Wizards on Monday. He wouldn’t confirm if Davis had a chance to return from a 20-game absence with a stress reaction in his right foot, per a report in the broadcast.
Ham simply smiled, finishing his press conference on a cryptic note: “I’ll just say it like this: Once we get our evaluation done in the morning, the possibilities are limitless.”
46 points and a CAREER-HIGH 9 threes for @KingJames.
He's the first player age 35 or older to make 9+ threes. pic.twitter.com/T7qAK2Ra0d
— NBA (@NBA) January 25, 2023
Kawhi and PG lead the @LAClippers to 3 straight wins!
George: 27 PTS, 9 REB, 4 AST
Leonard: 25 PTS (11-16 FGM), 2 STL, 2 BLK pic.twitter.com/opaJ5O6YZH— NBA (@NBA) January 25, 2023
Steve Ballmer was PUMPED after Kawhi's swipe and slam 🤣 pic.twitter.com/At541G3vex
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) January 25, 2023
.@KingJames talks about the #Lakers loss, Rui, and more. pic.twitter.com/i6bIqvVamv
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) January 25, 2023
"We want to win, we want to win games." Darvin Ham after he touches on what the #Lakers need to do for a brighter future. pic.twitter.com/szBrk9qQhG
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) January 25, 2023
