Clippers
Lakers Hold Off Clippers 125-117 as Third Quarter and Paint Scoring Decide It
The Lakers beat the Clippers 125-117 at Crypto.com Arena and moved to 3-0. The game was tied 64-64 at the half before Los Angeles outscored the Clippers 39-26 in the third quarter. The Clippers fell to 1-1.
By the Hoops Nightly Desk · updated 5 min ago01The story of the nightThe third quarter broke the tieThe first half was even.
The first half was even. The Clippers led 31-27 after one quarter, and the Lakers won the second 37-33. That left it tied at 64. The third quarter decided the game. The Lakers scored 39 points to the Clippers' 26 and led 103-90 going into the fourth. That 13-point gap was close to the Lakers' biggest lead of the night, which was 15. The Clippers won the fourth 27-22 and cut into the margin, but they never got back in front. The game had 12 lead changes, and almost all of them came before the third-quarter run.
02Reaves leads a balanced Lakers attackAustin Reaves led all scorers with 28 points on 10-of-13 shooting, and he added nine assists.
Austin Reaves led all scorers with 28 points on 10-of-13 shooting, and he added nine assists. He also had six turnovers. Luka Doncic scored 23 with seven assists and six rebounds, but he shot 8-of-21 and turned the ball over 11 times. Walker Kessler gave the Lakers 22 points on 10-of-14 shooting, eight rebounds and six blocks. He finished a team-best plus-18. Ziaire Williams scored 14 and Matisse Thybulle added 13, with three made threes. Quentin Grimes had 13 points and eight rebounds off the bench.
03Clippers get scoring but pay for turnoversDarius Garland led the Clippers with 26 points and six assists.
Darius Garland led the Clippers with 26 points and six assists. He also had nine turnovers and no rebounds, and his team was outscored by 16 points in his 36.6 minutes. Brook Lopez was the best story off the bench. He scored 22 on 8-of-9 shooting and blocked three shots in under 20 minutes. Derrick Jones Jr. and Rui Hachimura each scored 16. Keaton Wagler added 13, but he made only 2 of 8 from the field. The Clippers shot 49.4% overall and 16-of-37 from three, which was not enough to cover the giveaways.
04Where it was won: the paint and the turnover battleThe Lakers outscored the Clippers 58-48 in the paint and shot 58.2% from the field to the Clippers' 49.4%.
The Lakers outscored the Clippers 58-48 in the paint and shot 58.2% from the field to the Clippers' 49.4%. Los Angeles also blocked nine shots to four. Both teams were careless with the ball. The Clippers had 25 turnovers and the Lakers had 21. But the Lakers turned theirs into more points: 33 points off turnovers to 29. The Clippers had the edges in fast-break points (22-13), bench scoring (46-25) and rebounds (45-43). Free throws were even at 19-of-25 each. The three-point line was close too: the Clippers hit 16 and the Lakers hit 14.
05What it means for both teamsThe Lakers are 3-0 and lead the West standings table with a clean start.
The Lakers are 3-0 and lead the West standings table with a clean start. The win came despite 21 turnovers, including 11 from Doncic, and a bench that was outscored by 21 points. Those are areas to watch. The Clippers are 1-1. They showed they can score, with four players in double figures off the bench and starters, and they matched the Lakers over the final quarter. Their 25 turnovers and 13 steals on the other side did not turn into a win. Cutting the giveaways is the clearest fix for the next game.
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