Clippers welcome Lakers to Intuit Dome with dominant win
INGLEWOOD — The Clippers’ longtime city rivals were in town and the buzz was unmistakable. The Lakers were making their first visit to the Intuit Dome, the Clippers’ new home, and the arena stands boasted fans from both teams.
Clippers fans booed the visitors. Those wearing yellow and purple cheered loudest when the Lakers made a second-half run. But in the end, it was the home team fans who got the final word Sunday night, giving the Clippers a rousing ovation after they posted a 116-102 victory against the Lakers.
“It felt like home just from the introductions when they were booing the Lakers and the fans were into it too when our guys were introduced to start the game, our fans were into it,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “And when they made their run, Laker fans, there weren’t that many in there, but they got kind of loud. But other than that, I thought our fans (gave us) tremendous support.”
There was much to cheer for on both sides.
First, any lingering doubt over Clippers star Kawhi Leonard’s knee, conditioning and ability to stay on the court was erased in less than 25 minutes.
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 (14,005) in the process. He also had four assists, and one rebound in matching his season-high for minutes.
“I’m happy with the progress,” Leonard said. “For me, it’s just about how I’m feeling and I’m coming out. The games feel great, but I still got work to do and we’re going keep taking each step.”
Leonard, who also missed the Clippers’ game against the Denver Nuggets last week to attend to his family during the Pacific Palisades fire, sat out Thursday’s game against Portland as well.
With another game Monday against the Chicago Bulls and four more this week, Lue capped Leonard’s minutes to 24 minutes, 17 seconds, matching his season high and said Leonard will not play against the Bulls.
“I like Kawhi’s pace, getting to his spot,” Lue said. “He attacked the basket. So, like I said, we just got to keep building and continue to keep stacking days (for him).”
Lue was more concerned about Lakers’ superstar LeBron James and his ability to rally them in any situation.
“Seeing him firsthand and just all the work he puts into his body every single day, the work he puts into his game every single day,” Lue said. “And then he’s just a smart player. He gets six, eight, 10 points a game just by doing that because he’s a smart player. But to see what he’s doing now at 40, like you said, I couldn’t imagine that.”
Lue said you can’t take anything away from James, who at 40 years old is averaging 23.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 8.8 assists.
“You got to try to put it (his greatness) into what you’re trying to do offensively and defensively and just go from there,” Lue said.
Except the Clippers (24-17) couldn’t ignore James completely. He scored 25 points, five rebounds and 11 assists, many of which fueled a second-half run by the Lakers (22-18).
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.
“Any time tonight there was an empty corner pick-and-roll, they blitzed it,” Lakers point guard Austin Reaves said.
The Clippers had to scramble to hold off James and Co. after watching their lead dwindle to 96-85 with 8:04 left in the game. Behind a pair of free throws from Ivica Zubac and a 3-pointer from James Harden, the Clippers pushed their lead to 102-85.
Reaves connected on two free throws as did James to keep the score close at 104-91, but the Lakers couldn’t overcome the Clippers’ balanced scoring.
Norman Powell led the hosts with 22 points and added four rebounds. He buried a 28-footer with 8:31 left in the second quarter for his 1,000th career 3-pointer.
Harden contributed 21 points, 12 assists and four rebounds. He passed Oscar Robertson for 14th place on the NBA’s career scoring list and now has 26,721.
Zubac had another double-double with 21 points and 19 rebounds (eight offensive), again missing the 20-20 mark.
The game played out just as Lakers coach JJ Redick had feared. The Lakers had 17 turnovers and a handful of errant passes that landed in their opponents’ hands. They are averaging 12.7 turnovers.
“They capitalized off our turnovers and mistakes defensively,” James said. “It’s a great team. Very well-coached. Hall of Famers, great complementary players, Norm Powell having a great season, Big Zu, big time. … You know, when you’re playing against a great team, you gotta limit your mistakes, offensively and defensively. Cause they make you pay, and I think they did that tonight.”
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.
“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 32-23 in the second to open their 15-point halftime lead.
Rui Hachimura added 19 points for the Lakers. Anthony Davis had 16 points and 10 rebounds in his return after missing a game with plantar fasciitis.
