Shorthanded Lakers grind out victory vs. Clippers for fifth straight win

With both Rui Hachimura out and Austin Reaves leaving the game early, the Lakers were forced to gut out a win on the second night of a back-to-back against the Clippers.

Down multiple starters, the Lakers gritted out a win for their fifth straight victory on Friday, knocking off the Clippers, 106-102.

LeBron James ended with 28 points and 13 rebounds. Luka Dončić scored 31 points on 9-22 shooting as he continued to struggle.

Austin Reaves ended with six points after leaving the game with right calf soreness and just nine minutes of play. He joined Rui Hachimura on the injury report as he was ruled out before the game.

Trey Jemison III ended with five points and six rebounds. Jordan Goodwin had six points to go with his five rebounds, two assists and three steals. Dalton Knecht went 2-3 from behind the arc, pitching in with eight points. Gabe Vincent had seven points, three assists and four steals.

The Lakers started the game off playing like a team on the second night of a back-to-back. They missed their shots, couldn’t defend well and let the Clippers jump to a 10-point lead, forcing a timeout for the Lakers.

LeBron had not taken a shot until he put up a 3-pointer and missed. He rectified that by making his second attempt. Luka still couldn’t find his stroke from behind the arc. The Lakers struggled to grab rebounds, allowing the Clippers more scoring opportunities.

Luka knocked down his first 3-pointer on his fourth attempt. After cooking so early, the Clippers' offense started failing them and the Lakers took full advantage of the opportunity to battle back into the game.

At the end of the first, the purple and gold were down by only one.

The second quarter began with LeBron creating contact with the opportunity for a three-point play. Gabe’s first points came with him taking the ball down the lane for a layup. Trey and Jordan put in quality minutes with their defense and scoring.

Both teams were cooking offensively with the Lakers keeping a small lead. LeBron took charge in this quarter, scoring all over the floor. Dalton saw his first minutes and drained a pair of 3-pointers, forcing the Clippers to call a timeout.

Out of the break, Kris Dunn stole the ball from Luka for a dunk, then drained a 3-pointer as well. The Clippers collapsed on defense for an easy wide-open dunk for Trey. After it became a single-digit lead, the Lakers answered the Clippers' mini-run and made it a double-digit lead again.

Jordan then stole the ball from former Laker Ivicia Zubac and scored on a layup.

James Harden knocked down one of his stepback 3-pointers. The Clippers cut the Lakers’ 10-point lead in half with two minutes left in the quarter.

Luka stole the ball from the Clippers and threw it to Dorian Finney-Smith for a two-handed dunk. After struggling in the first quarter, LeBron and Luka were now in double digits.

At halftime, a big-time block by Jaxson helped keep the Lakers in front by five.

The second half started with a missed shot by LeBron. Dorian had a nice defensive play causing a jump ball, but the Lakers couldn't grab the ball. The Clippers then lost track of time and had a 24-second shot clock violation.

Luka took the ball to the rim and was fouled, making both free throws. Gabe drained a welcomed 3-pointer after missing his last nine in a row.

The Clippers made it a three-point game until LeBron drained another 3-pointer. Dunn, who was cooking the Lakers in the first half, was up to five fouls. The turnovers started piling for the Lakers, allowing the Clippers to up their offense.

Kawhi drained a 3-pointer and put the Clippers up. Luka responded with a layup, which was followed by Jordan stealing the ball from the Clippers and scoring. Luka was fouled and completed a three-point play on the next possession.

The Lakers ended the quarter with LeBron finding Dalton for the jam, pushing their lead to six.

Bogdan Bogdanović knocked down a 3-pointer to start the final frame. LeBron scored four straight points in response before Dorian knocked down a corner 3-pointer. The Clippers continued to stick around, not allowing the Lakers to extend their lead to big.

Zubac was cooking his former team, scoring at will in the paint. Luka picked up his fifth foul at the 7:33 mark, by fouling Kawhi on a three-ball attempt and he made only one free throw. Luka drained a much-needed 3-pointer to help the Lakers go up by seven.

Luka was feeling it, knocking down another step-back 3-pointer. The Clippers then scored five straight to get back into it again. Harden was fouled from behind the arc and converted on all three free throws.

Gabe had a pair of major steals that ended with the Lakers scoring five straight points. In the last two minutes of the game, both teams were missing good shots and turning the ball over. Luka rectified some of the Lakers' mistakes by stealing the ball from the Clippers and found LeBron for a fastbreak layup.

Jaxson had the ball, turned and realized he was all alone and ran in for a dunk in the final minute. The Clippers kept missing all their 3-pointers, but Zubac was able to convert on a layup.

Despite multiple chances late, the Clippers kept missing 3-pointers to seal the win.

Key Takeaways:

Defense wins games! The Lakers have been clamping teams up at the right moments throughout each game.

An appreciation paragraph for both Trey and Jordan for their constant energy, hustle, and overall effort. They put in important minutes whenever they get playing time. They answered the call with Rui Hachimura being out and losing Austin so early in the game.

Jarred Vanderbilt deserves appreciation as well. He has been providing his usual excellent energy and defense off the bench. He’s been bringing some spiciness to each game and causing opposing teams to get riled up. That’s huge for this team.

The Lakers’ next game will be against the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday at 6:30 PM PT.

You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.