The derby battle between the Lakers and the Clippers is undoubtedly the focus of attention, and in the first three matchups of the season, the Clippers won two games and the Lakers won one, and this game is undoubtedly crucial. In terms of record, the Clippers are certainly the more dominant side, but the team's recent form has not been ideal, winning only three of the last seven games, injuries have become a concern for the team, George and Zubac are not available in this game, in this situation, Coffey and Theis came to the starting lineup.
James and Davis all played, but the team's injury list is also long, Van der Biao, Wood and Vincent continue to be sidelined, but Reddish ushered in this game, which is undoubtedly a huge help for the Lakers' forward defense. Of course, if the Lakers want to win, they have to rely on James and Davis.
Leonard has had an explosion every time he faces the Lakers, and this game is no exception. At the beginning of the first quarter, Leonard scored 10 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists on 4-of-7 shooting, without a single turnover or foul, Harden only had 2 points and 2 assists, Theis and Mann scored 4 points each, Coffey hit 1 three-pointer, and the team scored 30 points in a single quarter, while the Lakers scored 29 points, of which James got 7 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists on 3-of-3 shooting, plus a classic nailboard cap. Davis shot 4-of-8 from the field, with 8 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal and 2 blocks.
The individual performance of the James Mei combination was very good, Reaves also had 7 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists, but the bench did not score a point, and the team trailed the Clippers by 1 point. After returning from the game in the second quarter, the Clippers' second team began to exert strength, and after James' pegboard hat was blown to interfere with the ball, the difference between the two teams came to 9 points. James counterattacked to stabilize the situation, but Harden ushered in an outbreak, scoring 16 points, 1 rebound and 2 assists on 5-of-8 shooting, Mann also had 8 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist, and the small card did not exert force, but the team's 36 points in a single quarter were still unstoppable.
The Lakers felt down, Hachimura had 6 points and 1 rebound on 3-of-5 shooting, James had 5 points and 2 rebounds, Davis had 4 points and 2 rebounds, and the team only scored 23 points in a single quarter. As a result, at halftime, the Clippers led the Lakers by as many as 14 points, 66-52.
Despite George's absence, the Clippers still had the upper hand, with Leonard scoring 14 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists on 6-of-10 shooting, while Harden finished with 18 points, 1 rebound and 4 assists on 6-of-11 shooting, as well as 1-of-6 three-pointers. The excellent play of Leonard and Harden is undoubtedly the key to the team's lead. Powell, who was on the bench, had 6 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist, Wei Shao had 4 points, 1 rebound and 2 assists, and Plummery had 5 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist.
The Lakers' starting performance was not bad, James had 12 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, Davis had 12 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist, Hachimura had 12 points and 2 rebounds, Reaves and Russell scored 7 points each, but only 2 people scored on the bench, Dinwiddie and Prince scored 2 points each, which is far from the Clippers. The Lakers shot just 3-of-16 from three-point range in the first half, but the Clippers made even worse three-point shooting, shooting 3-of-17. In the first half, the core players of both teams showed their strength, so in the second half, if the Lakers want to turn the game around, the other players will have to step up. Hundreds of spectators