The Los Angeles Lakers are officially on a roll, kicking off their season 2-0 after taking down the crosstown rival Clippers 125-117 on Friday night. Even better, they grabbed this win at home, extending their perfect start to the year. This wasn’t some nail-biter where the Clips almost pulled it off, either. The Lakers, who were 8.5-point favorites, proved why, even with a wild turnover night from their superstar.
Lakers’ Big Three Overcomes the Turnover Bug
You read that right, folks. Luka Doncic, our guy, racked up a career-high 11 turnovers in this game. ELEVEN! That’s a crazy number for anyone, let alone a player of his caliber. He also shot a less-than-stellar 8-of-21 from the field. Yet, he still dropped 23 points, pulled down 6 boards, and dished out 7 assists, proving his overall impact is just too massive. He was plus-10 on the floor, showing that even on an “off” night, Luka makes things happen.
But the real story of efficiency for the Lakers belongs to Walker Kessler. This dude is a walking highlight reel for fundamental basketball. He poured in 22 points on an absurd 10-of-14 shooting. Think about that: he’s now 22-of-26 from the field on the season after going a perfect 12-of-12 in the opener against Golden State. That’s just wild. Plus, he’s a defensive menace, pulling down 8 rebounds and tallying an insane 9 combined blocks (6) and steals (3). This guy is a double-double machine waiting to happen every single night.
Austin Reaves also went off, dropping a team-high 28 points on 10-of-13 shooting, including 3-of-5 from deep. He added 9 assists and 2 steals. Sure, he had 6 turnovers himself, but his scoring and playmaking totally made up for it. Ziaire Williams chipped in 14 points and Quentin Grimes added 13 points and 8 rebounds, showing the depth is already there. The Lakers were cooking, shooting 58 percent from the field and 44 percent from three.
Clippers’ Turnover Trouble and Bench Brilliance
The Clippers came into this game 1-0 after a solid 121-96 win over the Sacramento Kings, but they couldn’t keep that momentum going. They shot well, hitting 49 percent from the field and 43 percent from downtown, but turnovers killed them. They coughed up the ball 25 times! Darius Garland, despite scoring 26 points and dropping 6 assists, was responsible for 9 of those turnovers himself. That’s a tough pill to swallow.
They hung tough in the first half, tying it up 64-64 at halftime, but the Lakers just blew them out of the water in the third quarter, outscoring them 39-26. That cushion was enough for the Lakers to lead by double digits for most of the fourth, even with a late Clipper 8-0 run that cut the lead to six points (119-113) with just over three minutes left. That was as close as they got.
On a positive note for the Clips, Brook Lopez, somehow in his 19th NBA season, was a spark plug off the bench. He put up 22 points on an incredibly efficient 8-of-9 shooting in just 20 minutes! Rookie guard Keaton Wagler also continued his strong start to the season, adding 13 points to average 14.0 PPG after his 15-point debut.
Both teams hit the road this Sunday, with the Lakers heading to Utah to take on the Jazz and the Clippers traveling to Oklahoma City to face the Thunder. Can the Lakers keep this hot start going and show the league they’re serious contenders? You know we’ll be watching!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Bleacher Report.
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