INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The Lakers' first visit to Intuit Dome was an all-Clippers affair, as the cross-town rival’s first matchup of the season resulted in a lopsided contest for the purple and gold, falling 116-102 on Sunday night.
"When you're playing against a great team, you got to limit your mistakes, offensively and defensively, cause they make you pay and I think they did that tonight,” said LeBron James, who finished with a team-high 25 points and 11 assists.
The Lakers remain in sixth place in the Western Conference as their season record dropped to 22-18 and 8-12 on the road.
Here are some takeaways from the Lakers loss to the Clippers:
Troubled First Half and Then On
A 4-2 lead on the third shot of the game would be the Lakers' largest lead of the contest as the Clippers took advantage from then on, outscoring them 64-53 in the first half.
The turnovers piled up in the second half, totaling 17 turnovers on the night that resulted in 21 points for the Clippers off those giveaways. That left the room for error slim for the Lakers as the Clippers continued to pour on and match their buckets.
"Any time we made a run, they made a run of their own," Anthony Davis said.
The Clippers' surge was behind a strong performance from their starting group, which combined for 92 points. That included a limited yet efficient Kawhi Leonard, who hit nine of his 13 attempts (69%) from the field, finishing with 19 points in 24 minutes.
“They're a defensive team with an offensive engine and a bunch of guys who play their roles really well,” head coach JJ Redick said.
Norman Powell, the Clippers top scorer this season, led the team with 22 points.
James Harden, 35, continues to hurt teams with his playmaking ability as his offensive scoring threat allows him to score at will and find teammates in scoring opportunities. He finished with a 21-point, 12-assist double-double.
Haunted by Zubac…Since Trading Him
Ivica Zubac has played his whole career in Los Angeles and for both teams. He was drafted by the Lakers in 2016 before being traded midway through the 2018 season for... Mike Muscala.
Since then the Lakers have felt the effect of that trade not only in their frontcourt—which has yet to replace a center of his caliber—but in almost every matchup they see him in with his effort in the paint.
Zubac caused havoc on the Lakers' defense, outscoring and outrebounding Davis (16 points, 10 rebounds) with eight of his 19 rebounds coming on the offensive glass.
He added 21 points on 56%, nine-for-16 shooting in the paint. His 26th double-double this season.
Next Game
The Lakers will play their next two games at home before a six-game road trip, starting with the Washington Wizards on Tuesday (7:30 p.m.) and then the Celtics on Thursday (7 p.m.).
The Wizards will be coming to Los Angeles on a 10-game losing streak as they sit at the bottom of the Eastern Conference with a 6-35 record.