LOS ANGELES — For almost an hour inside Crypto.com Arena, it looked like the Lakers’ infamous losing streak against the Clippers was going to continue.
The Clippers, and especially Kawhi Leonard (18 first-quarter points), were rolling early, leading to the Lakers trailing by 19 early staring at a 13-point deficit at the end of the first quarter. The Lakers were struggling to find answers defensively.
But in the second quarter, they started to piece together answers. And in the third, they found a big solution: a super-sized frontcourt, which slowed their opponents’ momentum and helped the Lakers (3-2) find their way to a 130-125 overtime victory over the Clippers (3-2) on Wednesday night that ended their 11-game losing streak in the rivalry.
“They came out real aggressive, physical, playing with force,” coach Darvin Ham said. “We came out, weren’t really setting enough hard screens, weren’t really being physical with them on the defensive end as well. At halftime, I just talked to them about taking care of the ball, playing with physicality on both sides of the ball, showing your hands, being active, shifting – just being who we’re trying to be.
“And they received the message, they embraced it and they came out and executed.”
LeBron James had 35 points and 11 rebounds and Austin Reaves scored seven of his 15 points in OT for the Lakers. D’Angelo Russell scored 27 points and Anthony Davis had 27 points and 10 rebounds for the short-handed Lakers, who beat their local rivals for the first time since July 2020 in the Florida bubble.
With James Harden watching in street clothes on the Clippers’ bench, Leonard finished with 38 points. Paul George scored 20 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter, including eight points in the final minute before fouling out 30 seconds into overtime.
With four rotation players (Taurean Prince, Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent and Jarred Vanderbilt) sidelined, the Lakers were limited with their lineup rotations.
So late in the third, with the Lakers trailing 80-72 with 4:22 in the quarter, Coach Darvin Ham turned to a 6-foot-10-plus frontcourt trio of Anthony Davis, Christian Wood and Jaxson Hayes.
The unconventional lineup did what was intended: muck things up defensively.
The Lakers went on a 15-5 run with the aforementioned trio on the floor, using their length and size to bother the Clippers, who shot 2 for 9 from the field in that span, allowing the Lakers to take an 87-85 lead going into the fourth.
The Clippers didn’t go down easily, going on an 8-2 run within the final two minutes capped by a Paul George 3-pointer that cut the Lakers’ lead to 115-114 with 24 seconds left.
Russell knocked down a pair of free throws with 19 seconds left, but Cam Reddish (eight points, four assists, three rebounds) fouled George on a potential game-tying 3-point attempt, with George knocking down all three free throws to tie the score at 117 with 17 seconds left in regulation to eventually force overtime.
The Lakers once again went bigger in overtime, subbing in Wood for Russell midway through the extra period. The move paid off, with Wood (10 points on 4-of-6 shooting to go with 11 rebounds in 29 minutes) dunking home a putback with nine seconds remaining to secure the Lakers’ streak-busting win.
Even with the streak over, the Clippers have won 36 of the past 44 meetings overall.
It was James’ first 30-point game of the season, as he shot 13 for 19 (4 for 8 from 3-point range) to go with 11 rebounds, seven assists, two steals and a blocked shot in 42 minutes. He scored 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the fourth. His alley-oop dunk from Reaves put the Lakers up 124-119 with 2:12 remaining in overtime.
“He’s been phenomenal down the stretch,” Davis said of James. “And he’s making the right plays.”
Russell scored 19 of his 27 after halftime. Davis added four blocks, three assists and a pair of steals in 48 minutes. Reaves added seven rebounds and seven assists in 38 minutes.
Leonard finished 15 for 28 from the field to go with six rebounds, five assists and two steals in 41 minutes. Russell Westbrook had 24 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists (six turnovers) and four steals against his former team.
P.J. Tucker had five rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench in his debut for the Clippers after officially being traded to the team earlier in the day.
