LOS ANGELES — The bad news started hours before Sunday’s game when the Clippers announced that starting forward Derrick Jones Jr. and Ben Simmons weren’t playing. Then, the situation got worse after the opening tip.
Starting Norman Powell, who returned to the court after missing five games because of a balky left knee, headed to the locker room after nine minutes because of a sore right hamstring. He didn’t return.
Guard Kris Dunn, who was coming off a strong defensive performance Sunday against the Lakers, picked up his third foul six minutes into the game. He didn’t play again until the third quarter. Adding to the Clippers’ misery were the number of open-look 3-pointers the Lakers buried; they made seven of their first 10 long-range shots in the first 12 minutes.
If that wasn’t bad enough, the second quarter happened. The Clippers did not score a basket or free throw in the final 7:35 of the first half, putting them into a hole too big to overcome despite some strong play at the end, and they lost to the Lakers 108-102 at Crypto.com Arena.
It was that kind of night again for the Clippers (32-28), who now have lost five of six games since the All-Star break. They couldn’t contain Lakers star Luka Doncic, who scored 29 points on 9-of-17 shooting and had nine assists, six rebounds and two steals.
They gave up 19 points to Dalton Knecht, who made 5 of 8 3-pointers in place of injured Austin Reaves, and another 17 points to the team’s other superstar, LeBron James.
Still, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue took a positive view of the team’s second consecutive loss to the Lakers and third this season. He said he liked the Clippers’ shot selection even if it didn’t result in a score, especially from the perimeter.
The Clippers made 12 of 39 long-range shots and shot 43.7% overall.
“(We took) a lot of good shots that we just didn’t make, and we haven’t been making,” Lue said. “And so just taking shots with confidence, teams are going to leave guys and over help, then we just got to make the right play and trust. I think we’ve been doing that.
“When we’re shooting between 35, 40 3’s, that means we’re sharing the basketball, making the right play, and now we’re just not making shots right now.”
A number of those missed 3’s were crucial down the stretch.
The Clippers had battled back from a 21-point deficit late in the third quarter to pull within five, 93-88, with 7:52 left in the game. After James hit a 3-pointer, Kawhi Leonard missed a 3 that would have kept the margin to single digits.
“I thought we did a good job, but during that stretch where they went up 21, like I said, we missed shots, we didn’t get back in transition,” Lue said. “And then what killed us tonight was the offensive rebounds. We didn’t rebound the basketball. I think we cut the five like six minutes, then you give ’em four offensive rebounds, four chances at it, and LeBron makes a big three. And so those are things we’ve been talking about all season. And what you got to keep grinding with it.”
Yet it was the Lakers who kept grinding and pushed their lead back to 11 on three free throws by Doncic less than two minutes later.
Trailing 105-96, Dunn missed two 23-foot shots sandwiched around Doncic’s fadeaway bank shot as the Lakers led 107-96. The Clippers finally found their stroke, connecting on back-to-back 3-pointers by Bogdan Bogdanovic and Leonard to pull within five at 107-102.
Then it was over. The Clippers missed five more shots before the final buzzer.
“It’s a make or miss league,” James Harden said. “You make shots, you get yourself a chance, you miss shots. It’s a little bit tougher. … you make shots, and it’s a different ball game.”
Lost amid the missed shots and opportunities was the play of Leonard, who had a season-high 33 points and 10 rebounds in 40 minutes.
Dunn added 15 points and four assists, and Ivica Zubac chipped in 12 points and nine rebounds. Harden had another off night, scoring 13 points on 4-of-14 shooting and 2-of-9 from the 3-point range.