Clippers Vs Lakers: Luka Doncic scores 38 as Lakers hold off Clippers 125-122
In the Clippers Vs Lakers matchup in Los Angeles, Luka Doncic scored 38 points with 11 assists and Austin Reaves added 29 as the Lakers held off the Clippers 125-122, splitting the four-game season series and delivering a tense finish Friday night.
Early fireworks and first-quarter control
The game opened with Brook Lopez putting together a personal 5-0 run for the Clippers while Austin Reaves scored the Lakers’ first five points; the Lakers finished the first up by 12 after Luka scored 17 points in the quarter, drilling four 3-pointers and helping the team make 16 of 17 shots in one stretch.
At the 6: 18 mark the Lakers were up by three, and by the end of the period the Lakers had pulled ahead. Lopez led the Clippers with nine early points and Luke Kennard knocked down a 3-pointer after a Laker timeout.
Runs, second-chance edge and halftime picture
The Clippers used second-chance points to stay close, leading that battle 14-2 at halftime, but the Lakers went into the break up by seven; Kawhi Leonard had just one bucket in the first quarter before answering with a 19-point second quarter that left him at 21 by halftime in one account.
Rui Hachimura knocked down a 3 for the Lakers in the second, Benedict Mathurin (also spelled Bennedict Mathurin in another account) started the period with a jump shot for the Clippers, and Deandre Ayton threw down a dunk off an assist from Luka while John Collins hit a triple for the Clippers in the half.
Second-half swings and a 17-1 surge
The third began with a Lakers 10-2 run that pushed their lead to 15, and at one point the Lakers were shooting 80% from the field in the stretch. But the Clippers responded: Derrick Jones Jr. scored four straight points during a six-point run, and a 17-1 scoring run put the Clippers ahead by two late in the period.
The Lakers countered with a Doncic 3-pointer and a Kennard layup to retake the lead, and going into the fourth the Lakers were up by four after the Clippers outscored them by three in the third.
Clippers Vs Lakers: Late sequence and finish
In the fourth, Jarred Vanderbilt opened with a dunk for the Lakers and three foul calls early for the Lakers led to stoppages; the Clippers tied the game at the 9: 50 mark before Reaves drained a 3-pointer to put Los Angeles back in front.
Derrick Jones Jr. scored on consecutive possessions to trim the lead to 123-120 with 46 seconds left. Nicolas Batum then stole LeBron James' pass in the final seconds, but Batum missed a tying 3-point attempt with 4 seconds left and the Lakers held on for the 125-122 final.
Player notes, health and roster details
LeBron James finished with 13 points and 11 assists in his return from the All-Star break but managed just two points in the second half; Doncic scored 12 points in the fourth and was returning from a four-game absence followed by a five-minute All-Star Game appearance because of a mildly strained hamstring.
Kawhi Leonard scored 31 for the Clippers before missing the final 5: 10 with an apparent ankle injury; the Clippers are listed at 27-29 and fell just short of getting back to. 500 after a 6-21 start to the season. John Collins was helped off the court with 18 seconds left in the first half after bloodied his face on a hard landing while trying to catch a long pass at the rim.
Bennedict Mathurin (listed elsewhere as Benedict Mathurin) had 26 points and seven rebounds in his second straight strong game for his new team before fouling out with 1: 49 to play; the athletic guard, acquired from Indiana for center Ivica Zubac, had dropped a career-high-tying 38 against Denver on Thursday in another game noted in the context.
Doncic, James and Reaves were able to play together for only the 11th time in the Lakers’ 55 games this season, a rare moment of full health coming out of the All-Star break that coincided with the team’s prolific offensive stretches. Reaves, who had three 3-pointers by the third quarter and reached 22 at that point in one account, finished with 29 points.
The Lakers blew a 15-point lead in the second half yet prevailed; the teams split the four-game season series. The next confirmed event is unclear in the provided context.
