INGLEWOOD — Three days after losing one of their best players in a trade, the Lakers played as though nothing had changed.
They played as though they didn’t miss 10-time big man All-Star Anthony Davis, who was sent to the Dallas Mavericks as part of the stunning trade that brought Luka Doncic to the Lakers. They played as though they didn’t lose two starters in what some have deemed the biggest trade in NBA history.
Instead, the Lakers looked like a team confident in moving forward without Davis and guard Max Christie, who was included in the trade for Doncic, and ran over the Clippers, 122-97, on Tuesday night in the latest edition of their crosstown rivalry at the Intuit Dome.
The Lakers played their first game since Saturday night’s trade as if they had something to prove not only to themselves but the rest of the league. While Davis’ presence will be missed, the Lakers can still dominate teams and they fought and worked on defense in a way they will likely have to without him.
The Clippers (28-22) found that out the hard way.
With Doncic watching approvingly from the bench, LeBron James had a game-high 26 points, eight rebounds and nine assists to lead the Lakers (29-19) their seventh victory in their past eight games. James and Doncic, who is close to a return from a strained calf that has sidelined him since late December, sat next to each other and talked and laughed at times.
Forward Rui Hachimura picked up the scoring slack left by Davis, posting 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting (four 3-pointers) and grabbing six rebounds. Point guard Austin Reaves added 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including three 3-pointers.
The Clippers’ second-ranked defense was helpless against the Lakers’ attack, especially inside, where they scored 46 points.
And the Clippers’ offense wasn’t any better. The Lakers outshot their regional rivals 54.9% to 37.8% and shot 48.6% from 3-point range (18 for 37).
Speaking before the game, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said he thought both the Lakers and Mavericks got better after exchanging their star players.
“A.D. is a hell of a player on both sides of the basketball. And Luka is a hell of a player who’s given me nightmares in the playoffs for a long time. So, they’re both great players,” Lue said.
Lue had to be happy Doncic wasn’t on the court for this game. The outcome might have been worse.
The Lakers dominated the Clippers from start to finish, leading by as many as 31 points, controlling the paint and limiting James Harden to seven points (on 2-of-12 shooting) and Ivica Zubac to eight points and 10 rebounds. Norman Powell led the Clippers with 20 points and Derrick Jones Jr. added 17.
“We could beat any team,” Lue said. “We also, if we don’t play the right way, we can lose to any team.”
This was the latter.
A technical foul called on Lakers coach JJ Redick, who argued extensively about a call, with 8:23 left in the third quarter gave the Clippers a momentary lift. They scored seven consecutive points, five by Jones Jr., to trim the Lakers’ lead to 13 (79-66) at the 7:21 mark.
But 33 seconds later, the Lakers had pushed their lead back to 20 points, deflating the Clippers’ hopes of turning the game around.
The Clippers came out sluggish and without much energy against a short-handed yet spirited Lakers lineup. The Lakers led 73-50 at halftime and that didn’t tell the whole story.
The Lakers led by as many as 24 in the first half, turned the ball over just four times in the first 24 minutes and shot 60.9% from the field and 57.9% from 3-point range.
The Clippers couldn’t match the Lakers’ intensity and struggled at every turn. They shot 39.1% from the field and failed to get inside for easy layups.
Clippers star Kawhi Leonard sat out the fourth quarter of the blowout and finished with 11 points, six rebounds and two assists in 22 minutes.
Lue had hoped to see more progress from Leonard in his 12th game of the season, giving him reason to extend his minutes. Leonard has been restricted to 24 minutes per game since returning to the lineup last month because of issues with his surgically repaired knee.
“I would like to get him around 36 (minutes) if I could. That would be ideal for me,” Lue said. “Once we are able to get Kawhi’s minutes to where we need to get him to, and he’s a hundred percent – meaning timing, meaning just condition-wise – we can make a run (at his minutes).”
The Clippers’ new players, Patty Mills and Drew Eubanks, both acquired in a trade with the Utah Jazz on Saturday, saw action in the final six minutes of the game.
Lakers rookie Bronny James hit his first NBA 3-pointer while playing the final six minutes.
More to come on this story.