The Los Angeles Lakers improved to 13-4 this season and 3-0 in the NBA Cup with a 135-118 win over the Los Angeles Clippers at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday. Luka Doncic was the star of the show as the Lakers made it five wins in a row and advanced to the knockout stages of the cup by clinching West Group B.
Despite Doncic’s brilliance, this was actually a back-and-forth contest through three quarters, but an offensive explosion in the fourth (37 points) allowed the Lakers to pull away from the Clippers. Defense remains a concern with this team, but they’re showing they’re hard to keep up with on offense when all the stars are playing.
Let’s take a look at how each Laker fared on the night.
Luka Doncic: A+
Game Stats: 43 PTS, 9 REB, 13 AST, 1 STL, 1 BLK, 14-28 FG, 7-12 3PT, 8-11 FT, 38 MIN
Doncic has put in some special performances against the Clippers over the years, and you can add this one to the list. The Slovenian had 24 points in the first quarter alone and racked up 32 by halftime.
Doncic’s struggles from beyond the arc had been a talking point in the lead-up to this game, and he connected on each of his first five attempts here. A 50-point game very much seemed to be on the cards with how well the five-time All-Star started, but he chose to be a facilitator in the second half and had the Lakers flowing well on offense to get this win.
Austin Reaves: A+
Game Stats: 31 PTS, 9 REB, 3 AST, 3 STL, 0 BLK, 11-16 FG, 2-4 3PT, 7-7 FT, 35 MIN
With Doncic on a roll to start the game, Reaves took a backseat on offense. He managed to contribute with his rebounding instead, and came very close to recording a second straight game with 10 rebounds.
When Doncic later took a backseat, Reaves performed magnificently, as he has for much of the season. The 27-year-old put up 18 points in the fourth quarter to ensure there would be no Clippers comeback on the night.
LeBron James: A
Game Stats: 25 PTS, 6 REB, 6 AST, 1 STL, 1 BLK, 9-15 FG, 2-5 3PT, 5-6 FT, 32 MIN
Much like Reaves, James didn’t get in the way as Doncic nailed one shot after another at the start of this game. The 21-time All-Star actually went scoreless in the first quarter and had only one assist.
It looked like this was going to be a rather quiet night, but James then eased himself into the game with nine points in the second quarter and a further 16 in the second half. He had five rebounds and four assists after halftime as well, and this was the best that we have seen him play this season.
Jake LaRavia: B
Game Stats: 4 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 0 BLK, 2-2 FG, 0-0 3PT, 0-0 FT, 17 MIN
LaRavia’s stats do not jump off the screen, but he had a pretty good game here. He was very active on defense and was one of the few positives on that end of the floor for the Lakers.
LaRavia especially did a good job on Kawhi Leonard in the first half. Leonard had just nine points at halftime, and he deserves a lot of credit for not allowing the two-time Finals MVP to find his rhythm.
Marcus Smart: B
Game Stats: 7 PTS, 3 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL, 1 BLK, 3-5 FG, 1-1 3PT, 0-0 FT, 20 MIN
Smart had a bit of a mixed night, but the positives certainly outweighed the negatives. He impressed on the defensive end yet again and could count himself a little bit unlucky.
Some debatable calls went against Smart, much to his frustration. As for the offensive end, Smart was scoreless in the first half and made some questionable decisions, too. He fared better in the second and got a better grade as a result.
Jaxson Hayes: C+
Game Stats: 8 PTS, 4 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL, 1 BLK, 3-4 FG, 0-0 3PT, 2-2 FT, 30 MIN
Hayes was another who didn’t particularly impress in the first half, but did much better in the second. He shocked everyone in the arena with a lob to Hachimura, and that play and a huge block in the fourth quarter were the highlights of his night.
Hayes wasn’t great on the glass, however, and his defense, in general, wasn’t quite up to the mark. At the end of the day, he is just a viable backup, and the Lakers need Deandre Ayton back.
Rui Hachimura: C+
Game Stats: 13 PTS, 3 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0 BLK, 6-9 FG, 1-2 3 PT, 0-0 FT, 31 MIN
Hachimura’s stat line might suggest he deserves a better grade here. He got to double digits for points and was efficient from the field as well, but that doesn’t tell the whole story.
Hachimura struggled on defense here, and you could argue he was the Lakers’ worst defender on the night. James even appeared to get quite frustrated with him on one instance. Hachimura’s efficiency and production on offense are great, but he’s going to have to do better on defense.
Maxi Kleber: C+
Game Stats: 2 PTS, 3 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0 BLK, 1-3 FG, 0-1 3PT, 0-0 FT, 14 MIN
Kleber fared better on the defensive end than Hayes when he came off the bench. The German was somewhat of an afterthought coming into this season, but he is showing that he deserves to be a part of the rotation.
The Lakers need all the help they can get on defense, and Kleber is proving he is no slouch on that end. He didn’t do much on offense here, however.
Gabe Vincent: C-
Game Stats: 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0 BLK, 0-2 FG, 0-2 3PT, 0-0 FT, 18 MIN
Vincent somehow failed to record anything on the stat sheet against the Clippers despite playing 18 minutes. It didn’t seem like the guard did anything of note during the game, but he had a plus-minus of +17, the third-best on the Lakers.
Make of that what you will, but this wasn’t a great showing. Vincent came into this game shooting 35.3% from the field, and the Lakers are going to need him to pick it up on offense.
