LeBron James and Luka Dončić lift Lakers past Clippers for fifth straight win

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers take the first game of a two-game series against the Clippers behind a duo performance from LeBron James and Luka Dončić, winning 106-102 on Friday night for their fifth straight victory.

The Lakers improved to 37-21 (fourth in the West) and 22-7 at Crypto.com Arena, finishing 10-2 in February.

"We're in a good place, but we're not comfortable at all. We haven't played our best game that we are capable of playing," James said on the Lakers record in February.

James picked up where he left off in Thursday’s win, carrying the load with 17 points at halftime after Austin Reaves exited early. Dončić struggled with his outside shot through the first three quarters, hitting just one of six from deep.

Dončić, who celebrated his 26th birthday in the win, finally got things going in the fourth quarter with the Clippers closing in. He scored 10 of his 31 points (nine-of-22 shooting) in the fourth, scoring eight straight points and hitting back-to-back 3-pointers, both signature stepbacks, that ignited L.A. to close out the Clippers.

"I still have a long way to go, but I'm starting to feel like myself again," Dončić said.

James finished with 28 points (13 rebounds) on 12-of-21 shooting, with the superstar duo combining for 59 points, the most in their short tandem together. This is the third straight game James has recorded 25+ points and 12 or more rebounds while shooting over 51% in that span.

Injuries continued to mount for the Lakers on the second night of their back-to-back. Reaves exited in the first quarter with right calf soreness and was later ruled out for the rest of the game. Head coach JJ Redick confirmed that Reaves experienced soreness in his calf and was held out for precautionary reasons. He finished with six points in nine minutes.

This came just a night after Rui Hachimura suffered a left knee strain, adding to the team’s growing list of health concerns. Redick gave an update on Hachimura's injury, saying he has left patella tendinopathy in his knee and will be re-evaluated in a week.

With the departure of Reaves and Hachimura not available, the Lakers relied on their bench to fill the production. All five players who contributed off the bench finished with a positive plus-minus (the whole starting unit went negative). Jarred Vanderbilt led the way in that category, finishing with a team-high +20, notching three points, five rebounds and a steal in 17 minutes.

"What he [Vanderbilt] does doesn't always show up in the box scores. It shows up in the plus-minus," James said. "He brings us a lot of energy."

Jordan Goodwin and Trey Jemison III were two notable difference-makers off the bench with a grit-and-grind mentality on the defensive end. Goodwin finished with six points, five assists, and three steals (+14) in 21 minutes. Jemison III finished with five points, six boards and a block in 22 minutes with a +19.

The Lakers mismatch hunted Clippers center Ivica Zubac to get his a matchup advantage for their star duo, mostly getting him to switch on James and Dončić with on-ball screens.

“It's tough. They were hunting for that matchup. [It] felt pretty good most of the night. Luka hit those two threes, but it felt pretty good most of the night. I think it worked for us for most part of the game,” Zubac said.

Kawhi Leonard and Zubac gave the Lakers defense the most problems on the night, with Leonard scoring at will in the midrange game and inside with 21 points in 38 minutes. Zubac led the Clippers with 27 points (16 rebounds), hitting 13-of-15 shot attempts, all inside the paint, in 38 minutes.

Next Game

The Lakers will continue their cross-town rivalry matchup against the Clippers on Sunday for the fourth and final matchup this season.