March 21st, 2017
The Lakers were the designated home team in their showdown with the Clippers on Tuesday, but it wasn’t much of a contest, with the Clips winning 133-109.
Chris Paul led the way for the Clippers with 27 points and 8 assists, J.J. Redick had 24, and Austin Rivers scored 18 off the bench in a game that was virtually decided by halftime. The Clips were up 70-40 at the half.
Although the Lakers didn’t play much defense, they did get some productive performances from their young players. Brandon Ingram scored 21 points and D’Angelo Russell had 18. Ivica Zubac had 17 and 7 rebounds, while Julius Randle added 19.
The Clippers shot 53% from the field and outscored the Lakers in the paint 60-36. They got whatever shot they wanted, and the Lakers couldn’t do anything about it. The Clippers also hit 3-pointers.
One of those 3-pointers was a 46-foot bomb from Jamal Crawford to end the 3rd quarter. That gave the Clippers a 108-74 lead heading into the 4th. Crawford finished the game with 15 points, and passed Calvin Murphy for #69 on the NBA’s all-time scoring list
Laker coach Luke Walton wasn’t please about his team’s effort at times, and benched his starters to open the 2nd half. “Playing without a certain amount of effort isn’t going to be acceptable or tolerated,” he said. “A lot of guys it’s more about the individual success rather than the team success.”
For the 2nd straight game, the Clippers starters sat out the entire 4th quarter. The game was so out of hand that Chris Paul was watching the 4th quarter with his son on the bench.
“Until the team more than individual, it’s going to be really hard to win,” Walton explained. “I would say we played harder in the second half but not as hard as we should play. To come out in front of our home fans and give that kind of effort wasn’t ok.”
The Clippers have now defeated the Lakers in 17 of their last 19 meetings. The win moved them a little bit closer to Utah, who is now just .5 games ahead of them for 4th place in the West.
The Lakers on the other hand picked up their 51st loss of the year. With Phoenix’s loss to Miami, the Lakers remain two games worse than the Suns for the 2nd worst record in the league, and the race for better lottery odds.