The battle of Los Angeles continues to be one-sided in favor of the Clippers as they defeated the Lakers, 114-101.
It didn’t look great early as the Clippers dominated the first period with a 38-21 advantage. Paul George scored 15 of his 29 in those first 12 minutes.
But as we’ve seen in the past, the Lakers usually make a run in the second period. An 18-2 run got the L.A. teams in a deadlock as the Lakers turned up the defense we got to know in those first few games. The Clippers would only lead by two at halftime.
As we have also seen in the past, however, the Lakers usually come out flat in the third.
The Clippers did score the first 7 points in the third quarter. The Lakers did end up tying the game at 71 after a 13-2 run; Troy Brown, Jr. got on fire for a bit there. But then the Lakers went back to their bad habits as the Clippers started making their shots. It was a sudden 16-4 close to the third and the Lakers, as we’ve seen all season, never really threatened again.
LeBron James tried his best with a one-man comeback. He scored 10 points in the first half of the fourth period before he left the game due to a lower leg injury. As for Anthony Davis? He sat for an unusual long time in the fourth quarter. And when he came back, he seemed to make no impact. He did score 10 of his 21 points after halftime but he was seemingly outhustled by Ivica Zubac. Like I said, the Lakers just never had a shot after the end of the third.
In the meantime, Norman Powell (18 points) and Reggie Jackson (14 points) shot much better than they’ve had most of this season. The Clippers had 7 players in double figures, led by Paul George with 29 points. They didn’t overwhelm the Lakers in any statistics but the energy was definitely seen more with the Clippers.
The Lakers were led by LeBron James. He had 30-8-5 but now we worry about his health. If he’s out for an extended period of time, the Lakers are going to sink even deeper than before. Davis had 21 points and 9 boards but these felt like empty calories. Westbrook came off the bench and had 14 points and 9 assists. Pretty good statistically but not as impactful as his previous games.
There’s not much else to say. The Los Angeles Lakers are 2-9. They’re a horrible team. There is no energy. There is no soul. And there’s not much that can be done other than to get better within. They’re tied up with their current roster but like I said before, I’m not here to talk about trade speculations and whatnot. As I was reminded, they were one shot away from being 1-10. Did I mention that LeBron is hurt and there’s a chance he could be out for an extended period?
Maybe this four-game home stand coming up will make them feel a tad better. And the schedule is supposed to get easier but that doesn’t really mean much if the team overall isn’t good at this current moment. The legacy ain’t going to do much, either; saying “they’re the Lakers” is such “I peaked in high school” stuff.
This is just all-around bad. And we’re not even halfway through November yet.
