Clippers welcome Lakers to Intuit Dome with dominant win
Today at 11:54 PM
INGLEWOOD — Any lingering doubt over Kawhi Leonard's knee, conditioning and ability to stay on the court was erased Sunday in 24 minutes of Sunday's 116-102 victory against the Lakers at the Intuit Dome.
The Clippers oft-injured star looked comfortable in his fifth game this season after missing the first 34, scoring 19 points on 9-of-13 shooting and surpassing the 14,000 career-point mark in the process. He also had four assists, and one rebound in matching his season-high for minutes.
Leonard, who also missed the Clippers game against the Denver Nuggets to attend to his family during the Pacific Palisades fire, sat out Thursday's game against Portland.
With another game Monday against the Chicago Bulls and three more this week, Coach Tyronn Lue capped his minutes to another 24 minutes, matching his season high. He sat the entire fourth quarter.
Lue was more concerned about Lakers’ superstar LeBron James and his ability to rally them in any situation.
"He just always knows what's going on, so it keeps you on your toes and makes you a better coach because he's locked in every single day," Lue said.
"You can’t take away what he does is great, and so you got to try to put it (his greatness) into what you’re trying to do offensively and defensively and just go from there."
Except the Clippers couldn't ignore James completely. He scored 25 points, had five rebounds and 11 assists, many of which fueled a second-half run by the Lakers.
The Clippers' lead swelled to 26 points (90-64) in the third quarter. The Lakers, buoyed by a loud pro-Lakers crowd, ran off nine consecutive points to trim the lead to 90-77 heading into the final quarter.
The Clippers had to scramble to hold off James and Co. after watching their lead dwindle, 96-85, with 8:04 left in the game. Behind a pair of free throws by Ivica Zubac and a 3-pointer by James Harden, the Clippers pushed their lead to 102-85.
Austin Reaves connected on two free throws as did James' to keep the score close, 104-91, but the Lakers couldn't overcome the Clippers' balanced scoring.
Norman Powell led the team with 22 points and had four rebounds. He buried a 28-footer with 8:31 left in the second quarter for his 1,000th career 3-pointer.
James Harden contributed 21 points and moved past Oscar Robertson for 14th place on the NBA all-time points list. He has scored 26,721 career points. He also had 12 assists and four rebounds.
Zubac had another double-double with 21 points and 19 rebounds.
The game was just as Redick had feared. The Lakers had 17 turnovers and a handful of errant passes that landed in their opponents' hands.
In the second quarter, Reaves lost the ball, then Powell stole another pass and Derrick Jones Jr. turned it into an alley-oop dunk off a pass from Amir Coffey for a 64-49 halftime lead.
"They have a lot of guys with really good hands," Redick said. "They got eight guys, averaging 0.9 steals or more. It’s obviously on tape as well.”
Redick said the Clippers' defensive skills only paled to their offensive talent. The Clippers, led by Powell's 23.7 ppg, are averaging 109.6 points. They have beaten their past three opponents by an average of 33 points.
"Got to take care of the basketball today,” Redick said. “Got to be organized and then they got some really good offensive players. James (Harden), Kawhi, Norman Powell and (Ivica) Zubac are probably playing the best basketball of his career, so they’re a great team.”
The Clippers got rolling early and led by six at the end of the first quarter. They continued their hot shooting, outscoring the Lakers 30-19 to open up a 17-point lead with 1:29 left in the first half and took a 64-47 lead into halftime.
