At the Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday night, the Lakers came away with a 116-112 victory against the LA Clippers. An interesting match between two basketball teams from the city of Los Angeles and it was very interesting.
The LA Clippers were in fourth place in the Western Conference and needed to win to continue securing their place in the general standings. They came from a difficult game against the Sacramento Kings, where the Clippers lost 123 to 107 and thus achieved another defeat of the season. The conference has been very close and a loss could mean dropping one or two positions. Therefore, in this game they sought to win and maintain their place.
On the other hand, the Los Angeles Lakers came from 5 wins in their last 7 games and their goal was to win to try to steal ninth position from the Golden State Warriors. The team led by Darvin Ham was in tenth position in the Western Conference and needed the victory to advance in position.
At the beginning of the game, the LA Clippers dominated the beginning of the first quarter by scoring 8 points in a row without the Lakers being able to answer. The Los Angeles Lakers were forced to use their first timeout in the 8th minute, returning there were modifications made by the coach, he asked that the offense be more active and that everyone participate in the defense. It was a quarter with many points, where the Clippers achieved a small lead of 1 point.
In the second quarter the LA Clippers swept, the stars of the Clippers team started very strong and overcame the Lakers defense. James Harden and Kawhi Leonard led the team's offense at home in the second quarter. The first half ended and the score was Los Angeles Lakers 52-66 LA Clippers.
Returning from the break, the Lakers increased their level of play and LeBron James came out on fire by scoring several triples. However, the Lakers' comeback would be interrupted by Norman Powell and his 14 points off the bench. The Clippers stayed ahead and increased the lead to 19 points at the end of the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Lakers had a savior. LeBron James shot 3 triples (13 points in this quarter) and managed to tie the game with 4 minutes left. The Lakers' defense was present, preventing the LA Clippers from scoring. D'Angelo Russell scored a triple that secured the victory for the Lakers with one minute left in the last quarter, it was evident that the Clippers would not recover, thus giving up and thus resulting in a victory for the Lakers 116 to 112.
Upcoming matches and featured players
The Clippers will play at home again, their next matchup will be against the Washington Wizards on March 1. There are still a few games left in the regular season, they will continue their fight to enter the playoffs.
We must highlight the great game of forward Kawhi Leonard, he dominated the entire game and got 26 points, 6 assists and 7 rebounds in 39 minutes played. Likewise, it was a very good game by Norman Powell who had 14 points, 2 assists and 4 rebounds off the bench.
The Los Angeles Lakers will play at home again, their next game will be against the Washington Wizards on February 29 at the crypto.com Arena. Their standout players were LeBron James with 34 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds, and also center Anthony Davis who achieved a double-double of 20 points, 2 assists and 12 rebounds in 36 minutes.