Even without Luka Dončić, the Lakers easily handled the Clippers in the Intuit Dome on Wednesday, picking up a 103-87 win.
Luka and Ziaire Williams were ruled out on the second night of the back-to-back after losing to the Blazers on Tuesday. In their absence, the Lakers responded with a big defensive performance, turning the Clippers over 24 times and scoring 31 points off them.
The Lakers struggled with turnovers themselves, finishing with 21. But their 15 steals and 17 offensive rebounds helped
overcome that.
Matisse Thybulle put the Lakers up by four early, as he was the only one to score. Derrick Jones Jr. was the only Clipper to score, draining a triple. The Clippers called a timeout after the purple and gold extended their lead.
Out of the break, Darius Garland converted on a layup.
The Clippers scored seven in a row, led by Jones Jr., to put them in the lead by two. They extended their scoring run to 12-2, as the Lakers continued to struggle offensively. It was a low scoring affair throughout the quarter, as neither team was able to create a lasting lead.
The purple and gold ended the first on a 9-2 scoring run to retake the lead by three.
Quentin Grimes scored for the Lakers early in the second period. Both teams were having a rough time controlling the ball. The Clippers had eight turnovers and the Lakers had six. Jarred Vanderbilt finally saw playing time and was spearheading a lot of great defense for the Lakers.
The Lakers were now up by three. Reaves was leading the charge with 12 points.
Led by their impressive defensive showing, the purple and gold built a lead of nine. Collin Sexton and Sandro Mamukelashvili combined for 13 off the bench. Thybulle ignited for six points, draining two triples, pushing his point total to 12.
The Lakers ended the half on a 27-7 scoring run to lead by 18 heading into the half. The purple and gold had three players in double figures, led by Reaves’ 16 points.
The Clippers scored a quick five points to start the third period. The Lakers, meanwhile, started the quarter with multiple turnovers. Grimes fouled Garland while he was shooting from behind the arc and he converted on all three free throws, further extending the Clippers’ early run.
Walker Kessler stopped some of the bleeding for the Lakers with a dunk.
The purple and gold saw their lead shrink to single digits as they struggled to replicate the suffocating defense they showed in the first half. The Lakers were also 1-5 from the field.
Spearheaded by LaRavia, Thybulle and Grimes, the Lakers went on a 10-0 scoring run to go back up by double figures. Sexton went on an insane individual run, scoring 11 straight points to help the Lakers lead by 19 at the end of the third.
The final frame began with a dunk by Baba Miller for the Clippers. Grimes scored on a layup on the other end for the purple and gold. He added another three points, keeping the Lakers up by 19.
It was a continued Laker takeover with the Clippers trying to shave points off the lead, scoring five in a row, but they were still down big with 6:25 left. The Lakers did go on a four-minute scoring drought, but they put the final dagger with back-to-back shot from Grimes and Mamu.
Key Player Stats
Reaves finished with 16 points and five rebounds as he struggled on the night, shooting 6-16 from the field and turning the ball over eight times. Kessler notched 11 points with nine rebounds.
The big scoring nights came from Sexton with 21 points off the bench and Grimes with 23 points as a starter due to the injuries.
Thybulle pitched in with 15 points, shooting 5-6 from the field. Mamu had 13 points with eight rebounds. Jake LaRavia and Vanderbilt did the dirty work, combining for 17 rebounds, three steals and two blocks.
The Lakers’ next game will be against the Golden State Warriors on Friday at 7:00 PM PT.
You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.
