In a game without forward Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves, the Los Angeles Lakers landed 18 three-pointers to defeat the Los Angeles Clippers 108-102. The win pushed the Lakers up to second place in the Western Conference.
Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard led all scorers and rebounders with 33 points and 10 boards. Lakers guard Luka Dončić led the team with 29 points and forward Jarred Vanderbilt made nine rebounds.
Guard Gabe Vincent stepped in as starter with Reaves sidelined due to a right calf strain. He shot three three-pointers and ultimately scored nine points in the matchup. Vincent noted how he prepared to be more of a playmaker.
“If [James] and [Dončić] are on the court at the same time, if I need to touch the paint, spray, stuff like that,” Vincent said. “But for the most part, it was just a game with more minutes.”
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Lakers coach JJ Redick noted how the squad implemented a strong effort in the matchup. He recalled a sequence of when James missed three consecutive shots but Vanderbilt and center Trey Jemison battled to get offensive rebounds until James scored a three-pointer.
“Tonight wasn’t perfect with some of the execution stuff, but we more than made up for it with our effort at times,” Redick said. “I really like what we did in the half court, when our defense was set.”
Redick also brought up the struggles the Lakers still have with turnovers. The Purple and Gold gave up 20 points from 17 turnovers.
The Lakers pestered the Clippers on defense, committing eight steals and six blocks. This helped the Lakers secure a victory despite the Clippers having five players score in the double digits.
The Lakers held the Clippers to 15 points in the second quarter. Throughout the contest, they managed to strip the ball away from center Ivica Zubac. He ended the night with 12 points, three points below his scoring average. He also only managed nine rebounds instead of his average 12.6.
Transition defense has been something the Lakers have been improving on, according to Vincent.
“We’ve been trending the right way and I think about the right time of the year to be doing so,” Vincent said. “There’s still some things we can clean up and get better on. Transition defense was atrocious at the beginning of the year and I think that has helped us defensively.”
Earlier this month, Vincent was elected as vice president of the NBPA and is set to serve in that position for three years. He expressed his excitement to leave his mark on bettering the league.
“I think the NBPA has done a great job supplying a number of resources for current players and former players as well,” Vincent said. “Just trying to make sure that guys understand the resources that are available to them.”
The Lakers return home Tuesday to battle the New Orleans Pelicans at 7:30P.M.
