LeBron James delivered a strong performance with 25 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists, helping the Los Angeles Lakers break a four-game losing streak with a 106-103 win over the Los Angeles Clippers during Sunday night’s NBA action.
Anthony Davis contributed 22 points and 10 rebounds, playing a crucial role in the Lakers’ second consecutive victory over the Clippers, following a series of 11 consecutive losses to their city rivals. Key contributions also came from Taurean Prince and D’Angelo Russell in the final moments, as the Lakers secured one of their few wins since clinching the NBA’s Inaugural In-Season Tournament. Davis reflected on the team’s determination.
“We played like we needed to win, like it was a must-win,” Davis said. “We competed on both sides of the basketball. We’ve just got to build off of it. We know what we have in the locker room. We know what it takes to win, and we displayed that tonight.”
The Lakers maintained their lead in the fourth quarter despite losing a 10-point advantage, and the game remained tense until Norman Powell’s last-second three-pointer missed, almost leading to overtime.
“Overtime,” James said. “It looked like it was good for sure. Right on line. … We’ve got to continue to get better. Try to use this to catapult (us to play) a little bit better. Better play from us, but it still don’t take away from the fact of how we’ve been playing like the last 11, 12 games.”
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Paul George scored 22 points for the Clippers, while Ivica Zubac added 22 points and 19 rebounds. The Clippers saw their five-game winning streak come to an end but still hold a strong recent record, winning 14 of their last 17 games.
The Lakers established a significant lead early in the fourth quarter, but the Clippers fought back, tying the game on Powell’s free throws late in the match. However, Prince hit a crucial three-pointer, and despite James Harden’s efforts, the Clippers fell just short.
Harden, playing his first game against the Lakers since joining the Clippers, scored 15 points. Clippers coach Tyronn Lue acknowledged the team’s offensive difficulties, while Kawhi Leonard credited the Lakers for their aggressive play.
“We just didn’t play a good offensive game,” Lue said. “There was a bad flow to the game offensively. I thought our defense was pretty good, but offensively, we couldn’t get in a flow or a rhythm.”
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Russell, returning from injury, added 13 points for the Lakers, who had previously struggled against the Clippers until an early-season overtime victory.
“You’re going to have games like this (where) you’re not going to play great,” Leonard said. “You’ve just got to give the Lakers credit. They came out aggressive with energy. Bron had a great game, and AD, and they led them to victory.”
Lakers coach Darvin Ham praised the Clippers as a high-level team, describing the win as significant for breaking their losing streak.
“They’re a championship ballclub, as far as I’m seeing,” Ham said of the Clippers. “Playing very high-level basketball, multiple threats all over the place. That’s a huge, huge win. A great win to get off the slide.”
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This game marked a milestone for the Clippers, as it was their final regular-season game as the “visiting” team in the arena they’ve shared with the Lakers since 1999. Starting next season, the Clippers will have their own arena, the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, ending years of sharing space with the Lakers.
Looking ahead, the Clippers will host the Phoenix Suns on Monday night, while the Lakers will welcome the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night.
