It was the same fate, but this time the Lakers put up a better fight. Sort of.
INGLEWOOD — The Lakers dropped their second game this season at the Intuit Dome, falling to the Clippers 112-104 on Thursday despite nearly climbing back in the fourth from 26 down.
The Lakers had a great second-half defensive performance for the third straight game—holding the Clippers to 48 total points—but ultimately couldn’t bounce back from the 64 points the Clippers hung on them by halftime.
“Just a poor job of defensive and coverage execution. And then we just didn’t trust each other on the offensive end. That was an awful game; not enough passing. I think that’s a consistent thing; when you don’t play well, we don’t pass to each other, and we don’t have a scheme defensively,” coach JJ Redick said.
The climb took three quarters and was nearly executed after outscoring the Clippers 16-7 to start the fourth quarter. The Lakers completely shifted the momentum behind a mixed crowd of fans after the Clippers had control for nearly the first three quarters.
The Clippers had had a collective effort get them to their lead and ultimately the win. Kawhi Leonard led them with 23 points, Ivica Zubac was monstrous with 19 rebounds (10 offensive rebounds) and 18 points, and James Harden had 18 points and 10 assists.
Every time the Lakers inched closer, the Clippers had an answer.
The Lakers cut it close multiple times in the fourth, getting within two after a Luka Dončić fadeaway jumper with six minutes left. Then, with 1:29 left, LeBron James got them within three after an and-1 left-handed bucket.
Harden answered Dončić’s fadeaway with 3 and Ivica Zubac followed James with an easy one-handed flush. Then John Collins put the nail in the coffin with a corner three to give the Lakers their ninth loss on the road this season.
Dončić finished with a game-high 32 points (11 rebounds, eight assists) but struggled from 3, shooting three-for-13 from deep. James finished with 23 points, five rebounds and six assists in 36 minutes.
“I think the energy was there. I didn’t ultimately do enough to win this game. But I think the energy was there,” Dončić said on the loss.
The Lakers’ loss drops them back down to sixth in the West with a 26-17 record. They are now 1-1 at the start of their eight-game road trip, with Dallas next on Saturday for the first time this season.