Lakers vs. Clippers Preview and Game Thread: Let’s run it back

It’s Lakers against Clippers all over again as both teams face each other for the second straight game.

The Lakers will face the L.A. Clippers on Sunday for the second straight time. This will be the last game between these two teams this season.

A victory by the purple and gold at home would secure the season series 3-1 and ensure they have the tiebreaker over their inner-city rival.

Start time and TV schedule

Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. L.A. Clippers

When: 6:30 p.m. PST, Mar 2

Where: Crypto.com Arena

Watch: Spectrum Sportsnet

The Lakers beat the Clippers 106-102 on Friday to earn their fifth straight win. Luka Dončić was superb in this game and scored 31 points, with 20 of them coming during the second half. Ideally, he can build off that momentum on Sunday night and lead the charge against the struggling Clippers.

However, Sunday’s game might be even tougher for the home team since Austin Reaves and Jordan Goodwin are both listed as doubtful to play.

LeBron James and Luka are also listed as questionable, so the roster might be missing many rotation players.

Ideally, they’ll have at least one of the big three of LeBron, Luka and Austin available to play. Hopefully, we get some positive updates before the game begins.

If not, then role players like Dalton Knecht, Gabe Vincent and Dorian Finney-Smith will have to step up in a big way to make sure the Lakers produce enough offense to give themselves a chance at winning.

Luckily for the Lakers, the Clippers have been struggling. They’ve lost six of their last ten games and the duo of Kawhi Leonard and James Harden can’t seem to find chemistry together.

Norman Powell missed Friday’s game but is probable to play in the rematch on Sunday. If he does suit up, the Lakers will have their hands full trying to slow him down. He is averaging 24.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists on the season.

Another key component to this game will be the Lakers’ ability to contain Ivica Zubac. On Friday, he was dominant for the Clippers, scoring 27 points while shooting 13-15 from the field. The Lakers are slim on bigs, so Jaxson Hayes and the rest of the team must try to keep him out of the paint as much as possible on Sunday.

Los Angeles needs to be as physical as possible with Zu and deny him the touches he wants. With injuries and so many top-quality opponents on the schedule, it’s getting harder and harder for the Lakers to keep this winning streak going.

If they can get a couple of key guys to play and improve in the margins from Friday’s win, they can replicate the result on Sunday.

Notes and Updates

• For the Lakers, LeBron James (left foot injury management) and Luka Dončić (calf injury management) are listed as questionable. Jordan Goodwin (right ankle sprain) and Austin Reaves (right calf strain) are doubtful and Rui Hachimura (left patellar tendinopathy) and Maxi Kleber (right foot surgery) are out.
• For the Clippers, Norman Powell (left patellar tendinopathy) is listed as probable and Derrick Jones Jr. (right groin strain) is out.
• We will be live on Playback for this game, so be sure to join us!

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.