Luka Doncic has 43 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds, Austin Reaves scores 31 and LeBron James adds 25 points as the Lakers pull away for their fifth straight win, 135-118, clinching a quarterfinal berth. James Harden has 29 points and nine assists for the Clippers, who have lost 11 of 13.
The “Battle of L.A.” between the Lakers and Clippers was downplayed as a rivalry by both coaches ahead of the first matchup of the season between the teams Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena.
But what wasn’t downplayed were the stakes.
More than the four-game winning streak the Lakers entered Tuesday with. And more than the opportunity for the struggling Clippers, who had lost 10 of their previous 12 games, to get back on track.
As Lakers big man Jaxson Hayes put it: “We win, we get [at least] $53K. Gotta start somewhere.”
So with the Lakers’ 135-118 victory over the Clippers, they not only guaranteed themselves at least a portion of the NBA Cup prize money, but they also clinched West Group B, securing their spot in the In-Season Tournament’s quarterfinals.
Luka Doncic had 43 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds to pace the Lakers (13-4), falling just short of his 10th career 40-point triple-double. Austin Reaves had 31 points, nine rebounds and three assists, while LeBron James (25 points, six rebounds and six assists) had his highest-scoring game since making his season debut last week after missing the opening 14 games because of sciatica.
