The Los Angeles Lakers could not stretch their winning streak to three games on Thursday night, dropping a 112-104 decision to the L.A. Clippers at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.
The Clippers seized control early behind accurate three-point shooting and 14 first-quarter points from Kawhi Leonard, who finished the night with a strong all-around performance. Jake LaRavia answered with back-to-back threes for the Lakers, but the visitors still trailed 36-29 after one period.
Luka Dončić tried to keep the Lakers close, feeding Rui Hachimura for a buzzer-beating triple to close the first quarter, yet Los Angeles’ purple-and-gold side struggled defensively in the second. Brook Lopez and Leonard knocked down perimeter and mid-range shots, while Ivica Zubac controlled the paint. A 9-0 Clippers spurt to close the half sent the Lakers to the locker room down 64-47.
Leonard opened the third quarter with an 8-2 burst that pushed the margin to 26, forcing a quick Lakers timeout. Missed open looks continued to plague Darvin Ham’s club, though Dončić sparked a modest rally with a series of drives and an alley-oop to Jaxson Hayes. LeBron James closed the period with a steal and dunk, trimming the deficit to 86-72.
Momentum finally swung early in the fourth. Hachimura drilled a three and a mid-range jumper, and James converted a driving layup to cut the gap to single digits. When Dončić re-entered, he buried a high-arching triple that narrowed the score to 93-91, but James Harden answered immediately, igniting a 7-0 Clippers response.
The Lakers mounted one last surge—an 8-0 run capped by a three-point play from James made it 103-100—but Zubac’s late dunk effectively sealed the result.
With the loss, the Lakers fell to 2-1 on their current road swing. They continue the trip Saturday night in Dallas, where Dončić will face the Mavericks at American Airlines Center for the first time since his offseason move to Los Angeles.
Source: Lakers Nation
