NGLEWOOD, Calif.- — The Clippers make it four straight by knocking off crosstown rival Los Angeles Lakers 116-102 on Sunday night. Los Angeles took over the game early and held off the Lakers whenever a run occurred. The Clippers are now 24-17 after the win and will be back in action tonight in a home matchup with the Chicago Bulls.
Here are some takeaways from the Clippers win over the Lakers:
The Clips first half sets the tone
The Clippers are a team that starts game slow but tonight they were amped and ready to go against their crosstown rival.
The Clippers outscored the Lakers in the first quarter 32-26 and followed that up with an even better second quarter which gave them a 64-49 lead at the half.
The Clippers were just the more aggressive team from the jump and attacked the basket at will. They got up nine more shots in the half (45 to 36) which led to nine more makes (26-17).
You can tell from the tip-off the Clippers were looking to prove they were the better team.
The starting 5 thrives vs Lakers
The Clippers started the game off the right way with the play of their starting 5 and that continued the rest of the way.
Four of the five starters scored 19 or more points with Norman Powell leading the way with 22 points and James Harden following with 21 points and 11 assists.
Ivica Zubac added 21 points and 29 rebounds as he got the best of the Lakers Anthony Davis in their big man battle.
Kawhi Leonard looked very decisive with his moves and had some bounce to himself scoring 19 points to help the Lakers knock of their rival.
Derrick Jones Jr. who only scored 9 points was the defensive leader who helped slow down Austin Reaves who was come off a near 40 point game agains the Nets. Reaves finished with just 14 points.
When healthy the Clippers starting five looks like a potent unit going forward.
Clips protects their house in first official home game at Intuit Dome against Lakers
The Clippers were hosting the Lakers for the very first time in their brand new arena, the Intuit Dome.
Los Angeles came into the game 14-6 at home and wanted to show their crosstown rivals that their home court advantage is a real thing.
The Wall was energetic all night and though the Laker fans in the arena were loud the Clipper fans had the advantage.
“Yeah, it was great. It felt like home. Just from the introductions when they were booing the Lakers. Our fans were into it when our guys were introduced and at the start of the game our fans were into it,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said.
The Clippers finally felt at home against the team they have shared an arena with since the early 2000s and are ready for a new era of the rivalry.