Clippers take advantage of Lakers’ bad start and never look back in 133-109 win
Fans received twinkling purple necklaces as they entered Staples Center for Tuesday night’s Lakers home game against the Clippers.
The lights kept blinking, but the other team in town quickly sapped the rest of the energy out of the building.
The Clippers beat the Lakers, 133-109, tying a season high in points and leaving Lakers Coach Luke Walton frustrated, again, about the team’s effort.
“The Clippers got whatever they wanted,” Walton said. “You could just see the rhythm building. Once you see a talented team get in a rhythm, then they’re just out there having target practice on us. They were taking turns. … We weren’t able to put that pressure on them early in the defensive end. At this level, you let a team get into a rhythm, it can be a long night.”
Clippers point guard Chris Paul scored a game-high 27 points through three quarters and shooting guard J.J. Redick scored 24 points in 17 minutes. Brandon Ingram led the Lakers with 21 points. He and fellow rookie Ivica Zubac provided rare early highlights for the Lakers. They combined for 14 of the Lakers’ 24 first-quarter points.
With the win, the Clippers improved to 43-29, bringing them within half a game of the Utah Jazz, who are the fourth seed in the Western Conference.
With the loss, the Lakers fell to 20-51, still firmly in possession of the second-worst record in the NBA, a distinction that increases their chances of keeping their high first-round pick, which goes to the Philadelphia 76ers if the pick drops out of the top three.
The Clippers took a 2-1 lead in the season series between the teams. After the Lakers won their home matchup on Christmas Day, 111-102, the Clippers beat the Lakers in January, 113-97, in what was a Clippers home game.
Tuesday night’s game got out of hand quickly.
The Clippers opened on a 13-2 run and made nine of their first 13 shots. They went on a 23-5 run in the second quarter to take their lead from nine to 27. Clippers reserve guard Jamal Crawford scored nine points during the run.
The Lakers were outscored 37-16 in the second quarter and trailed 70-40 after two quarters.
“Our defense, we were on a string,” Paul said. “In the first quarter, we were letting them get the shots they wanted. In the second quarter, they were getting the shots we wanted them to have.”
At halftime, Walton benched his starting five. He opened the third quarter with Corey Brewer, Tyler Ennis, Tarik Black, David Nwaba and Thomas Robinson.
Walton sent a clear message with the move.
“Playing without a certain amount of effort isn’t going to be acceptable or tolerated,” Walton said. “They’ve done a great job the last game and a half. Obviously we’ve had a lot of downs. To come out in front of our home fans and give out that type of effort wasn’t OK. It’s not right. We went with five guys that we thought would play really hard.”
Robinson offered an energetic effort, scoring 16 points in 10 minutes, but the first-half deficit was too much to overcome.
“We just lack consistency,” Lakers forward Julius Randle said. “Just a mind-set. I can sit here and talk about it all day but until we figure it out and go out and do it, it’s not going to be anything different.”
None of the Clippers starters played in the fourth quarter, and Paul sat on the bench with his son on his lap.
Walton had planned to give his team Wednesday off, but the lackluster performance on Tuesday night changed that.
“Tonight sucks because it’s just a wasted opportunity,” he said. “We have a long way to go and we didn’t get better tonight. … Eleven more games from now it’s just going to be practice all the time.”
Follow Tania Ganguli on Twitter @taniaganguli
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