The Lakers pulled off a 106-103 win over the Clippers with LeBron James (25 PTS, 8 REB, 7 AST) and Anthony Davis (22 PTS, 10 REB) excelling.
The Lakers have halted their four-game losing streak with a much-needed win over the high-flying Clippers. The 106-103 win saw the Lakers have one of their strongest defensive showings in a while with the offense just managing to outpoint a misfiring Clippers squad. Fans are overjoyed after getting such a big win.
Laker fans are undecided on where they stand on their coaching after poor decision permeated throughout the game but the team managed to still win.
Some fans are making it clear that this win shouldn’t save Darvin Ham from criticism.
Norman Powell had an incredibly close buzzer-beater at the end of the fourth that could have sent the game to OT which some fans were shocked to see rim out.
Fans loved LeBron James’ strong defense on Kawhi Leonard the entire game.
More fans wanted LeBron to get his credit for being an ace defender on Kawhi, who has been on a hot scoring streak.
Fans praised the LeBron and AD duo defensively in the game.
Clipper fans accepted the fact that their core players were having a bad night.
The Lakers struggled to score once again, as LeBron James put up 25 points with eight rebounds and seven assists, showing high aggression on defense and getting a poster dunk on Paul George. Anthony Davis put up 22 points with 10 rebounds, also getting three steals and a block on the night. Taurean Prince and D’Angelo Russell had 13 points each, as no other Lakers scored in double-digits.
The best player for the Clippers was easily Ivica Zubac, who ended the night with 22 points and 19 rebounds. Paul George also put up 22 points and managed five steals as the only other Clipper to have a good game. Kawhi Leonard and James Harden both struggled to score, ending the night with 15 points, though Harden hit an important three with less than a minute to go in order to keep the Clippers in the game.
Lakers Coaching Troubles Continue
This game wasn’t one that Darvin Ham can claim went a long way in saving his job. Ham is under a lot of fire at the moment and didn’t wow fans with his use of lineups upon D’Angelo Russell’s return to the team. Russell did have a strong run in the third quarter, but the Lakers’ struggles in the fourth can be attributed to him.
Another major problem was the lack of minutes Christian Wood got even though he was one of the only players to regularly challenge Zubac on the boards, even getting two blocks in his 15-minute stint.
The Lakers had broken ATO plays in the last 24 seconds, being unable to advance the ball but the coaching staff refused to call a timeout, prompting LeBron to make the decision. That could have caused a turnover, as the Lakers had already spent eight seconds trying to get the ball out of the backcourt and failed twice before that.
Luck fell the Lakers’ way today. Ham does get credit for having competent defensive rotations and schemes to contain the Clippers but his offensive failings have continued in another game. We can blame the players as well, so the Lakers are far from being out of the woods.