Los Angeles Lakers played without LeBron James and fell to LA Clippers 116-127 on Tuesday. Lakers fall came after a Sunday night victory against Portland Trail Blazers.
Table of Contents
Kawhi Leonard’s Magic
The Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard stole the limelight in the game against Lakers. He scored 25 points on 11-of-16 shooting, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished 10 assists. Lakers’ Point guard D’Angelo Russell played a good game 27 points, five rebounds, 10 assists and one block.
His one block proved costly for Clippers James Harden who was going in for a dunk. This caught a lot of attention on social media. NBA enthusiasts have made it viral showing Harden going in for a dunk but DLo swatted the shot away. But this didn’t discourage the Clippers’ Shooting guard from playing to the finish. Harden had a great night with 23 points, two rebounds, 10 assists, one steal and one block.
Leonard’s mid-range shots, Harden’s stepbacks and Paul George’s drive led the Clippers to victory as LeBron James watched from the stands with an ankle injury.
D’Angelo Russell Says Lakers Missing LeBron James
The 27-year-old applauded the LA Clippers. “They made shots when it really mattered. Whenever we needed that stop, they got the shot. Or the rebounds, so there’s a few areas where they got second-chance shots and things like that.”
Russell added that the Lakers played good, solid defense. “Had a lot of opportunities. Missed a lot of open shots. I think that’s where we get some positivity from. We’re missing LeBron James, as well.”
Darvin Ham, Los Angeles Lakers Head Coach, expressed disappointment in the loss. “I think the lesson tonight was how we competed together. Guys taking accountability for mistakes and not making them twice. Trying to get better defensively as the game was ticking away. Disappointed in the loss, but I’m proud of how the guys competed minus LeBron.”
Surprisingly, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue wasn’t too happy with the victory. “Just overall didn’t play a good mental game and we didn’t do a good job with our coverages, especially defensively. We were all over the place. We’ve just got to continue to keep getting better.”
