EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – In their first road game of the year, the San Diego Clippers (4-2) lost to the South Bay Lakers (2-4) 95-85 at the UCLA Health Training Center.
The Lakers came out with a punch, getting a 31-19 first quarter lead. The Clippers, once again, needed to fight their way back from an early deficit, something they’ve done multiple times before.
San Diego rolled with their usual starting lineup, something head coach Paul Hewitt seems very comfortable with. Tosan Evbuomwan kept San Diego in the fight, going 3-of-3 on field goals in the first quarter.
Nate Darling returned from a two game absence, and immediately contributed with a 3 pointer of his own.
The Clips’ were able to respond in the second quarter, going on a 25-19 run to put the Lakers lead down to 6 going into halftime. It was very clear this was going to end up as a low scoring game.
Entering the third period with the Lakers still up 50-44, the third quarter was much of the same, with San Diego and South Bay only scoring 23 and 20 points through the entire 12 minutes of action, respectively.
It had looked like the Clippers gained momentum in the final period, but South Bay denied that, only allowing two points for San Diego through the first 4 minutes of the quarter, while scoring 12 of their own, bringing their lead up, 82-69.
That drought was finally ended with a layup by Braxton Key, but the Lakers simply put, just looked more comfortable playing at home.
Much of San Diego’s offense was a one and done pass for a 3 pointer that tended to not go in. They finished the game shooting 8 of 32 on 3 pointers, good for 25%.
The Clippers’ offense just failed to produce the results they were accustomed to. An unfortunate final frame where the Lakers outscored them 25-18 led to their demise.
As the buzzer sounded, the Clippers were handed their second loss of the season, first on the road.
The issue this game was simply just not hitting shots, as the Clippers’ overall field goal percentage was 31-95 (32.6%) and the Lakers hit on 35-83 shots (42.2%).
Evbuomwan and RayJ Dennis led in scoring for the Clips’ scoring 17 and 18 points respectively, which combined, was over 40% of the team’s total points.
Maxwell contributed 18 points for South Bay. Bronny James did not see any game time in the contest.
San Diego will stay on the road and visit Rip City in a one game matchup, with tip-off scheduled for Friday, Nov. 29 at 1 p.m. at Chiles Center. After that game, they will return home for a two-game homestand.