LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Clippers came into Crypto.com Arena on Friday night fresh off a thrilling 115-114 win over the Denver Nuggets less than 24 hours earlier, but on the second night of a back-to-back they ran into a Los Angeles Lakers team that had its full star trio together for just the 11th time this season.
The Clippers came up just short, falling 125-122 in a game that came down to the final seconds.
Luka Doncic, returning from a four-game absence due to a mildly strained hamstring, looked like he never missed a beat.
He scored 17 first-quarter points with four three-pointers and finished with 38 points and 11 assists while Austin Reaves added 29 and LeBron James chipped in 13 points and 11 assists for the Lakers (34-21).
Leonard, Collins Go Down With Injuries
Despite the firepower on the other side, the Clippers (27-29) more than held their own thanks to Kawhi Leonard, who is averaging 27.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists this season.
Leonard answered a quiet first quarter with a 19-point second and finished with 31 points on 11-of-19 shooting before leaving with 5:10 remaining due to left ankle soreness.
Kawhi aka The Klaw aka The Midrange Master 🖐️ pic.twitter.com/mUVotNR9qq
— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) February 21, 2026
Bennedict Mathurin was just as good in his second straight big game, scoring 26 points with seven rebounds after dropping a career-high-tying 38 against Denver the night before, though he fouled out with 1:49 left.
John Collins nasty falll yikes... pic.twitter.com/kmbYXqFpuX
— 𝗠𝗔𝗟 (@MindOfBron) February 21, 2026
The Clippers also lost John Collins in the first half after he bloodied his face on a hard landing while going up for a long pass at the rim. Collins had 12 points in 16 minutes, and Lue said postgame that Collins was still being evaluated.
Foul Baiting Frustrates Both Sides
Lue was not shy about sharing his frustrations with the officiating, pointing directly at the Lakers for what he felt was constant foul baiting.
"When you're foul baiting the whole game, we run into it every night, it's tough," Lue told reporters after the game.
"These guys are already great players, and so it's just tough to stop them at that point."
Bennedict Mathurin seemed to echo everyone else's frustration on the loss against the Lakers:
— Farbod Esnaashari (@Farbod_E) February 21, 2026
"It's hard. Trying to play hard and the game kinda stops on one side of the court, one side more than the other." pic.twitter.com/n8vTVED9zI
Doncic went 8-of-11 from the line and Reaves was a perfect 7-for-7, with the Lakers shooting 20-of-25 as a team.
The Clippers were no strangers to the stripe either, going 24-of-29 from the charity line.
Mathurin, who was attacking the basket all night, shot 11-of-14 from the line before his sixth foul ended his evening.
Clippers Nearly Force Overtime
The Lakers blew a 15-point second-half lead, and the Clippers fought all the way back.
With the Lakers holding a three-point lead in the closing seconds, Nicolas Batum stole LeBron's inbounds pass and got an open look from three to tie it, but the shot rimmed out as time expired.
Lue walked away from the loss pointing to the fight his group showed on a back-to-back against a fully loaded opponent.
"You saw it. That's who we are," Lue told me.
I couldn’t even get my full question out.
— Grant "Money" Mona (@Gmona48) February 21, 2026
But here is Ty Lue’s full postgame presser. 👇
He was VERY frustrated.
“That doesn’t look like a fu***ing team that’s trying to lose to me.” 👀 pic.twitter.com/fWfBHnaPEl
"This group, we're going to compete. We're going to fight every night. And that doesn't look like a team that's trying to lose to me. We're going to scrap every night."
The loss drops the Clippers to 27-29, keeping them 10th in the Western Conference, but this is a team that looks nothing like the group that started 6-21.
The Lakers improved to 34-21 and split the season series with their crosstown rivals.
The Clippers host Orlando on Sunday while the Lakers welcome Boston to Crypto.com Arena.
