Lakers throttled by Clippers in Intuit Dome debut

It wasn’t a pleasant debut for the Lakers in the Intuit Dome as the Clippers grabbed an early lead and never looked back.

In a familiar scene between the two sides, the Clippers knocked down shots early and often, putting the Lakers in a hole early. Despite a fake comeback in the second half, the Clippers held a comfortable lead throughout and won 116-102.

While I’m not saying it’s the Lake Show jerseys that were responsible for the loss, I am saying the Lakers should hold a ceremony where they burn them in a metal trash can.

LeBron James was one of the few Lakers to have a decent scoring night in the purple and gold, scoring 25 points with 11 assists. Austin Reaves had 14 points on 4-6 shooting, but had five turnovers to three assists.

Anthony Davis had 16 points and 10 rebounds but struggled against Ivica Zubac, who dominated the interior on the night and finished with 21 points and 19 rebounds. Rui Hachimura had 19 points after coming alive in the second half while Max Christie had 10.

Norman Powell scored the opening seven points for the Clippers, but Rui, AD and Austin all had baskets in response. The two teams traded baskets throughout the opening minutes, including a pair of 3-pointers from LeBron and four-point play from James Harden.

Eventually, a Kawhi Leonard long-range make moved the hosts ahead 18-12 and forced an early timeout. Christie eventually helped the Lakers get back within a possession with a wing three, but again the Clippers responded to keep the Lakers at a distance.

A fresh look at the two-big lineups saw AD and Jaxson Hayes share the floor near the end of the first. A new rotation saw LeBron close the first while AD went to the bench late in the period.

Ultimately, the Lakers didn’t make much headway in the deficit no matter the lineup as they went into the second period trailing 32-26.

The Clippers used another spurt to start the second quarter to open up a 37-28 advantage. Reaves knocked down an important 3-pointer to keep the Lakers attached and Gabe Vincent got to the rim to make it a 37-33 game.

Some timely jumpers from the Clippers kept them ahead by multiple possessions, but LeBron and Reaves continued their strong showings from Friday against the Nets to pull the Lakers back into the contest. After a Max layup made it a 43-41 game, the Clippers responded with back-to-back baskets to make it a six-point game again.

A trio of scores from Ivica Zubac (curse you Magic) and Kawhi Leonard were part of a 13-3 run that pushed the Clippers up 56-44. A host of good looks from range for the Lakers would not fall and, suddenly, the Lakers trailed 62-45 late in the period.

At the half, the Lakers trailed by 15.

The unseriousness continued into the second half as the lead grew to 20 points fairly quickly with the Clippers holding a 38-18 edge in paint points. A Derrick Jones Jr. 3-pointer made it a 75-54 lead and forced another timeout.

Kawhi started to find a groove, punishing a Lakers zone with mid-range jumpers. A Harden 3-pointer after a Zubac offensive rebound pushed the lead to 24 points.

The Clippers only continued to pile it on. Midway through the third, the Lakers had zero second-chance points to the Clippers’ 11 and were losing the battle in the paint 44-24.

Just as it felt like the Lakers were fully letting go of the rope, suddenly they pieced together an 11-0 run that featured their first second-chance points of the night on a Dalton Knecht 3-pointer, making it a 90-75 game.

LeBron closed the quarter with an impressive running floater over multiple defenders. Hilariously, the Lakers went into the final frame in the exact same spot they were in starting the second half, trailing by 15 points.

LeBron found Rui and Jaxson Hayes for alley-oops to make it a 13-point deficit. For as impressive as he was on the night, blown opportunities at the rim from LeBron kept the Lakers from inching even closer. Rui forced a timeout with a mid-range jumper that made it a 96-85 game.

Zubac’s three-point play in response helped stem the tide. AD had a pair of mid-range jumpers not fall and Harden turned a Reaves turnover into a 3-pointer to effectively end the Lakers’ fake comeback and make it a 17-point game again.

The Lakers did cut it back to an 11-point game again, but it never felt like much of a threat. Adding insult to injury late, Reaves limped to the bench after going after a loose ball.

Key Takeaways:

Ty Lue absolutely owns the Lakers. These games play out so similar every time. The Clippers look more prepared, drill a bunch of 3-pointers and control the game. Considering how badly the Lakers mishandled the Lue situation years ago, this feels like neverending karmic justice.

The Lakers have some figuring out to do. Too often when they play serious teams, they look a mess. On nights like this, the roster still doesn’t feel close.

I really hope the Crypto Curse has not claimed DFS.

LeBron needs to go back to the headband if he’s going to smoke layups like he did on Sunday.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.