The Los Angeles Lakers dropped to 19-8 in this 2025-26 season following a 103-88 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers at the Intuit Dome on Saturday. This was the Lakers’ lowest scoring game of the campaign, and for good reason, as Luka Doncic has become their fourth starter to go down with an injury.
With Austin Reaves, Deandre Ayton, and Rui Hachimura already out, Doncic left the game at halftime due to a left leg contusion. That meant LeBron James was the only full-time starter who was on the court in the second half for the Lakers, and while he tried his best, it just wasn’t enough.
The Lakers did threaten to make a comeback in the fourth quarter after trailing by as many as 22 points, but the Clippers managed to keep them at arm’s length and ended their five-game losing streak by doing so.
Here’s a look at how each Laker fared on the night.
LeBron James: A+
Game Stats: 36 PTS, 4 REB, 3 AST, 2 STL, 0 BLK, 3 TOV, 15-28 FG, 3-7 3PT, 3-5 FT, 36 MIN
James’ play was probably the only positive to come out of this game for the Lakers. There was a lot of talk about him potentially being past it after his slow start to the season, but he is showing there is gas left in the tank.
James scored over 30 points and attempted over 20 shots in a game for the first time this season, and was still very efficient. He racked up 12 points in the fourth quarter to give the Clippers a bit of a scare at the end, but winning this game was almost impossible with how much the rest of the team was struggling offensively.
Jake LaRavia: B
Game Stats: 12 PTS, 11 REB, 6 AST, 2 STL, 0 BLK, 0 TOV, 5-11 FG, 0-4 3PT, 2-4 FT, 37 MIN
Jake LaRavia was one of many Lakers who could not make a basket from beyond the arc in this one, as the visitors ended this game 6-38 from three. LaRavia at least provided some value with his rebounding, hauling in an impressive seven offensive rebounds. He recorded his first double-double of the season here and also did some good work as a playmaker without turning the ball over.
Nick Smith Jr.: C+
Game Stats: 9 PTS, 3 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 0 BLK, 0 TOV, 4-11 FG, 1-5 3PT, 0-0 FT, 22 MIN
Lakers head coach JJ Redick turned to Nick Smith Jr. midway through the third quarter due to all the absentees, and he’d stay in for the rest of the game. Smith went 1-5 from the field in the third, but fared better in the fourth. He played his part in the Lakers’ mounting that comeback attempt with six points in the period and provided a spark offensively that this team needed.
Adou Thiero: C+
Game Stats: 0 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0 BLK, 0 TOV, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3PT, 0-0 FT, 6 MIN
Adou Thiero barely got any game time here, but did impress in his short stint. Thiero notably had one good defensive possession against James Harden, and he’d end this game with a team-high plus-minus of +7. Should he have played more? Well, perhaps, but he certainly wouldn’t have helped make things any better offensively, as he is still limited on that end of the floor.
Luka Doncic: C
Game Stats: 12 PTS, 5 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 0 BLK, 4 TOV, 4-13 FG, 1-6 3PT, 3-5 FT, 20 MIN
This might have been Doncic’s worst game of the season, but he does have the injury excuse. Still, he seemed to be hunting for fouls and was careless with the ball.
Doncic missed his first six shots here, and he has also gone a bit cold lately, shooting 39.5% from the field over his last five games. He was also blown by on a couple of occasions on defense, and this was just a forgetable night.
Jarred Vanderbilt: C
Game Stats: 4 PTS, 5 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 1 BLK, 2 TOV, 1-4 FG, 1-3 3PT, 1-4 FT, 27 MIN
This game pretty much sums up the Jarred Vanderbilt experience. Vanderbilt was pretty good defensively here, even picking up full-court. The problem, though, is that he provides you with next to nothing on offense.
There were a couple of possessions when Vanderbilt was left wide open on the corner, and he couldn’t make the defense pay. He also went nowhere when dribbling with the ball at times, and he is the definition of a one-way player.
Jaxson Hayes: C
Game Stats: 8 PTS, 5 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 0 BLK, 1 TOV, 3-4 FG, 0-0 3PT, 2-2 FT, 31 MIN
Jaxson Hayes was once again deputizing for Ayton here, but didn’t do quite as well as he did against the Utah Jazz on Thursday. With Ivica Zubac exiting this game with an injury, you’d have liked to see Hayes dominate on the glass, but he wasn’t able to. Doncic’s exit also meant the Lakers weren’t going to get much out of him offensively.
Maxi Kleber: C
Game Stats: 0 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 1 BLK, 0 TOV, 0-2 FG, 0-2 3PT, 0-0 FT, 16 MIN
Maxi Kleber was the only other Laker apart from Thiero to have a positive plus-minus here (+1), but this was a rather anonymous showing. Kleber didn’t provide anything offensively and was just another Laker who couldn’t hit the outside shot. His defense is usually what stands out, but he didn’t do anything noteworthy on that end either.
Dalton Knecht: C-
Game Stats: 2 PTS, 4 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0 BLK, 0 TOV, 1-3 FG, 0-2 3PT, 0-0 FT, 13 MIN
Dalton Knecht got off to a rough start here as he airballed a wide-open three-pointer in the first quarter. Redick then had Knecht start in the second half in place of Doncic, and he didn’t even attempt a shot the rest of the way. The sophomore forward had 30 points in his G League debut recently, but was unable to carry over any momentum from that night here.
Marcus Smart: D
Game Stats: 5 PTS, 4 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 0 BLK, 1 TOV, 1-12 FG, 0-9 3PT, 3-3 FT, 31 MIN
With all these players missing, the Lakers needed a veteran like Marcus Smart to step up, and he certainly did not. Smart was woeful offensively, and this was one of the worst shooting nights of his career.
Smart came into this game having shot 14-28 from beyond the arc in his last three outings. You wouldn’t have expected him to keep shooting that well, but this was an abysmal showing. He was a non-factor as a playmaker, too, and there really weren’t any positives you can point to here offensively.
