Dave McMenamin, ESPN Staff Writer January 8, 2024, 2:56 a.m. ET
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- Lakers and NBA reporter for ESPN.
- He covered the Lakers and the NBA for ESPNLosAngeles.com from 2009 to 2014, the Cavaliers for ESPN.com from 2014 to 2018, and the NBA for NBA.com from 2005 to 2009.
LOS ANGELES – Clippers guard Norman Powell's last-second 3-pointer at the buzzer allowed the Los Angeles Lakers to stave off a four-game losing streak with a 106-103 victory on Sunday The team that managed to do this gave a sigh of relief and went into a tailspin.
“Try to use this to get us to play a little bit better,” LeBron James, who led all scorers with 25 points, said after the game at Crypto.com Arena. “But that doesn’t change the fact that we’ve played like that in the last 11, 12 games. Tonight was a good start. Hopefully we can start and build from here.”
The Lakers' shaky play actually lasted 13 games back, as they were just 3-10 since winning the regular-season tournament on Sunday.
Aside from better execution – they held a Clippers team that had a 14-2 record in its last 16 games to just 39.6% shooting – the Lakers also benefited from healthier bodies that coach Darvin Ham in could use his rotation.
D'Angelo Russell returned after a three-game absence due to a bruised tailbone and contributed 13 points and 6 assists off the bench – 11 of those points came in the second half – and Jarred Vanderbilt, who was hampered by a bruised tailbone he had on left heel injury and appeared to be the type of impact player on defense that was so important in LA's run to the conference finals last spring.
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Not to mention, Christian Wood (9 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks) and Max Christie (7 points, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks) also had strong games, helping the Lakers' bench outscore the Clippers' reserves with 31 -23 exceeded.
“All of these guys helped us win, they made some big shots, made timely plays, and that's what we need,” said Anthony Davis, who had 22 points and 10 rebounds. “It takes 'the others' to win championships and win basketball games. And these guys played phenomenal tonight. And when those guys play well, it just makes things a lot easier for me and Bron.”
Ham said team performance from top to bottom needs to be the Lakers' standard going forward.
“Everyone contributed and competed at a very high level,” Ham said. “And I’m proud of her. Now the cat is out of the bag for this game in terms of how we need to approach each individual game and how everyone needs to approach it as a committee.”
James said the Lakers had made “too many mistakes” to believe they had turned things around in a macro sense. Taurean Prince had an individual chance at redemption in a micro sense when he fouled Powell on a 3-pointer with 2:19 left in the fourth, allowing the Clippers guard to tie the game with three free throws, then a 3-pointer from He scored Eigener and two more free throws in the final 1:17 to help the Lakers win.
“I made this big mistake. … I just completely misjudged him,” Prince said of the foul on Powell. “So I immediately told myself I wanted to get that play back and the opportunity came and I just took it.”
The Lakers were helped by Kawhi Leonard having a rare down night, missing 11 of 17 shots, including 5 of 7 from behind the arc, which gave him 15 points. Leonard came into the game averaging 24.4 points and shooting 52.1%.
Leonard also sat from the 2:47 mark in the fourth quarter until just 17 seconds remained in a tight game due to a minute limit. Leonard, who played 35 minutes, was substituted by Terance Mann with 2:47 left and the Lakers led 98-95. When he returned with 17 seconds left, the Lakers led 103-101.
The Clippers host the Phoenix Suns on Monday for the second night in a row, and this was Leonard's fourth game back after missing four games with a hip injury.
“He was close to his minutes limit, and we have a two-in-one game tomorrow,” Clippers coach Ty Lue said. “We played five games in eight days so I felt we needed him in the game.” [earlier in the fourth] because we missed the game a little. … He had to play his extended minutes at the start of the quarter instead of the end of the quarter. So it's up to me that I made the decision to bring him on earlier so that he could come back.
Leonard said he understood why Lue had to leave him at the crunch point of a close game.
While Lue took responsibility for Leonard's minutes, James supported his former Cleveland Cavaliers coach and expressed outrage that a reporter referred to the Lakers' city rivals as the “James Harden Clippers,” naming them after the coach instead.
“No, it’s the T-Lue Clippers,” James said. “I know T-Lue very well. It doesn't take long for T-Lue to make sure things are going right. It took him five games and they’ve been cooking ever since.”
ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk contributed to this report.