The Los Angeles Lakers entered Wednesday night with 11 straight losses to the Clippers. Their in-city rivals have dominated them for quite a while, with Kawhi Leonard leading the way every single time. But, you can only gloat so much when you haven’t won a championship in franchise history. In the first matchup of the season, the Lakers showed they still run Los Angeles and beat the Clippers 130-125.
So Much For A Minutes Restriction
Remember how head coach Darvin Ham talked about limiting LeBron James‘s minutes this season? How his 29 minutes played against the Denver Nuggets on opening night could be the norm? Well, let’s just forget about that.
James has logged at least 33 minutes in four straight games now, leading the team to a 3-1 record in that span. Wednesday saw him stay on the floor for 42 minutes. Granted, overtime was needed to get the win. However, scratch off the five minutes played in the extra period, and James still played 37 minutes. Not much of a restriction there, if at all.
LeBron made a huge impact against the Clippers, leading the team with 35 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Oh, and he also had seven assists with a couple of blocks.
I understand there will be times when James will not be on the floor as much as he is now. But, in a small sample size, it’s clear that having James on the floor as much as possible is the key to success once again.
Supporting Cast Stepped Up
I wouldn’t say Anthony Davis is part of a supporting cast. He’s as much of a star as James is on the team. Regardless, let’s not get into specifics. The big man had a double-double (27 points, 10 rebounds) along with four blocks on the night. Playing a total of 48 minutes, he was dominant all night long.
D’Angelo Russell recorded his second straight game of 27+ points and also had six assists on the night. Cam Reddish made his first start on the season and made his mark on the defensive end (three steals).
Then, you have Austin Reaves. He had the play of the night. Well, possibly plays of the night.
AUSTIN REAVES JUST SENT NORMAN POWELL TO THE SHADOW REALM. HE'S BACK 𤯠pic.twitter.com/BJazXh0biY
— Lakers Lead (@LakersLead) November 2, 2023
AUSTIN REAVES WITH THE LOB TO LEBRON JAMES
— Lakers Lead (@LakersLead) November 2, 2023
RANDOM DRUG TEST INCOMING đđ𤯠pic.twitter.com/utD1J46uOe
One more player to mention. Christian Wood has looked like an absolute steal. Signed in free agency, he finished with a double-double last night (10 points, 11 rebounds). He isn’t scoring a crazy amount of points every time he plays. But, he is putting up great rebounding numbers and has made an impact defensively in the past two games.
The Losing Streak Finally Ends
It looked early that the Clippers were going to beat the Lakers for the 12th straight time. Up 37-24 after the first quarter, they still led by 13 points at the half.
However, the Lakers erupted for 39 points in the third quarter and if it wasn’t for a Cam Reddish foul would have won the game in regulation. But, three made free throws by Paul George tied the game up at 117 to force overtime.
One key stat: the Lakers had 23 fast break points compared to the Clippers’ 9. Moving at a fast pace was one of the keys to victory, no doubt. The Purple & Gold finally beat their in-city rivals, and improve to 3-2 on the season.
UP NEXT: @ Orlando Magic, 11/4
Thanks for reading “Lakers Still Run Los Angeles, Beat Clippers“. Make sure to visit Belly Up Sports every week and follow me on Twitter/X! Also, check out The Case and Nate Podcast on Spotify and on YouTube, where we discuss everything about the NFL.
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