The Los Angeles Clippers snapped a five-game losing streak on Saturday night by defeating the Los Angeles Lakers, recording their first home victory in more than seven weeks.
Before the matchup, head coach Tyronn Lue set a blunt goal: the team would need to post a 35-20 record the rest of the way—later amended to 36-19—just to reach the .500 mark. “We got to start at one,” Lue told reporters, according to Janis Carr of the Orange County Register. “Being up 15 at halftime, we probably should have been up 20 to 25. We didn’t run through the tape.”
Lue treated the rivalry game as a must-win, playing Kawhi Leonard nearly 42 minutes and James Harden almost 41. “I think we’ve probably led in every single game we played,” Harden said afterward. “Just finding a way to win one feels good.”
Although the victory provided a much-needed boost, the Clippers still sit near the bottom of the Western Conference standings and owe their 2024 first-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Lue hopes the breakthrough can spark a sustained run as the club tries to climb back into contention.
Source: Hoops Wire
