Lakers (25–16) vs. Clippers (19–24) | Game 43 of 82
WHERE TO WATCH AND WHAT TIME
Date: Thursday, Jan 22
Tip-off: 7 p.m. PST
Location: Intuit Arena — Inglewood, California
TV: Prime Video
Radio: ESPN LA 710 / 1330 KWKW
GAME PREVIEW
The Lakers continue their eight-game road trip back home in their third matchup against the cross-town rival Clippers. The series is split between the two, with the Clippers pouncing the Lakers by 15 points back on Dec. 20 at the Intuit Dome.
The Lakers are coming off a commanding second-half comeback road win over the Jokic-less Denver Nuggets on Tuesday, while the Clippers snap a six-game win streak after a 28-point loss to the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday.
Dončić notched his fifth triple-double of the season against the Nuggets, finishing with 38 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists, while LeBron James had 19 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.
Drew Timme continues to make noise in his minutes and has slowly seen his role increase since scoring 21 points in Portland. He scored seven points in two minutes in Denver, finishing with nine points and three boards.
The Lakers' defense has looked their most impressive these last two games, holding the Raptors to 93 points and shutting down the Nuggets to just 36 points in the second half.
"We're trying to figure out what's the best way for this team with this group to play defense. Throughout the year we've made adjustments in the game. We're going to have to get weird sometimes," coach JJ Redick said after the win in Denver.
In the last two games the Lakers have allowed the third fewest points and third fewest attempts to opponents at the foul line.
The win improved the Lakers to 26–16 and 14–8 on the road, pushing them back to fifth in the Western Conference.
CLIPPERS
The Clippers enter as one of the hottest teams in the NBA despite a 19-24 record after bouncing back from a horrible 6-21 start to the season. Since then they have won 13 of their last 16 games, going on two six-game win streaks in that span.
Kawhi Leonard and James Harden, who have clearly been All-Stars this season, have powered L.A. throughout the year. Leonard is averaging 28.2 points, 6.6 assists and 2.2 steals a game while Harden has posted 26 points and 8.0 assists a night.
However, Harden has struggled from 3 as of late, shooting 11-of-56 (19%) from behind the arc in the last six games.
Leonard has missed the last three games and was upgraded to questionable against the Lakers, so look for him to make his return (of course). He's scored over 30 points in the last two games.
NOTABLE OPPONENT RANKS AMONG THE NBA
The Clippers have the 13th-rated offense (115.5) and the 22nd-rated defense (116.8) in the NBA. Here are their notable rankings this season:
Clippers currently sits:
27th in points per game (112.3)
9th in FG% (47.4%)
13th in 3P% (36.4%)
No. 1 in FT% (84.5)
29th in Rebounding (40.3)
29th in in FGM (39.3)
Last in FGA (82.9)
INJURY REPORT
Lakers:
Austin Reaves (left calf strain): Out
Adou Thiero (right MCL sprain): Out
Nuggets:
Kawhi Leonard (knee): Questionable
Bogdan Bogdanovic (right hamstring strain): Out
Derrick Jones Jr. (right knee Grade 2 MCL sprain): Out
Bradley Beal (left hip; season-ending surgery): Out
THREADS FOR THE GAME
The Lakers will wear their black California Dream unis, while the Clippers will wear their red Statement Edition uniform.
NEXT MATCHUP
The Lakers will continue their eight-game road trip against the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday.