The Lakers without Luka Doncic still had more than enough for the Los Angeles Clippers. Quentin Grimes scored 23 points, Collin Sexton added a season-high 21 off the bench, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Clippers 103-87 on Wednesday night at Intuit Dome. It was their second win over their building-mates in six days. Los Angeles improved to 4-1 one night after its first loss, with two starters in street clothes and an offense built on deflections.
Why Doncic and Ziaire Williams sat
The Lakers ruled out Doncic (back tightness) and starting forward Ziaire Williams (left foot soreness) hours before tip-off of the second game of their first back-to-back of the season. Head coach JJ Redick called both moves precautionary. “There was some soreness and tightness today; tightness for Luka, soreness for Ziaire,” Redick said before the game, according to Yahoo Sports. “We have a tough stretch of games, and not a lot of time in between. Just being overly cautious.”
That meant no NBA scoring leader: Doncic entered averaging 36.0 points and had 41 in Tuesday’s 136-129 home loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. Redick started Jake LaRavia and Matisse Thybulle alongside Austin Reaves, Grimes and Walker Kessler, and spread the rest of the work across a nine-man rotation.
The second quarter decided it
The Clippers led 31-29 after a Derrick Jones Jr. tip with 7:10 left in the first half. The Lakers then scored the next 16 points in about two and a half minutes:
- Reaves hit a 28-foot step-back three.
- Sandro Mamukelashvili finished a three-point play.
- Kessler made two free throws.
- Sexton hit a three and two free throws.
- Thybulle buried a three at 4:13 to make it 45-31.
Los Angeles won the quarter 31-16 and led 56-38 at halftime. Thybulle hit another three before the break, and Reaves had nine points in the period. The Clippers made only 26 of 74 shots for the game (35%), and the Lakers’ guards kept turning their misses and mistakes into run-outs.
Sexton’s 11-point burst
The Clippers opened the third quarter with 13 of the first 15 points, all of them scored or assisted by Darius Garland, and got within 58-51. Grimes answered with five quick points, including a three-point play, and then Sexton took over. Between 3:00 and 0:59 of the third he scored 11 straight Lakers points: a pull-up jumper, back-to-back 26-foot threes and a driving and-one layup. Grimes assisted on the last two. The run pushed the lead to 81-61, and Los Angeles took an 85-66 lead into the fourth.
“Whenever I step between those lines, it’s wartime,” Sexton said afterward. He finished 6 of 11 from the field, 4 of 7 from three and 5 of 8 at the line, with four rebounds and two assists in 21 minutes. He was a team-best plus-23. Sexton also said the Lakers had asked him to “be a pest” on defense, according to USA Today.
Grimes carried the starting group
Grimes played a team-high 38 minutes and scored his 23 points without a made three (0 of 3). He went 7 of 12 inside the arc and 9 of 11 at the line, with five assists and four steals. His downhill attacking was the clearest replacement for Doncic’s usage, and the Lakers outscored the Clippers 48-28 in the paint.
Six Lakers scored in double figures:
- Grimes: 23 points, 5 assists, 4 steals.
- Sexton: 21 points off the bench.
- Reaves: 16 points, 6 rebounds, but also 8 turnovers.
- Thybulle: 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including 4 of 5 from three.
- Mamukelashvili: 13 points and 8 rebounds off the bench, plus-21.
- Kessler: 11 points and 9 rebounds with no turnovers.
Redick’s postgame message, posted by Infanity TV, was simple: “The harder playing team wins.”
Fifteen steals and 24 fast-break points
This was a defensive win more than an offensive one. The Lakers shot 44% (35 of 79) and only 9 of 31 from three. Their 21 turnovers were too many, and eight belonged to Reaves. They made up for it at the other end:
- 15 steals, led by Grimes (4) and LaRavia (3).
- 24 turnovers forced, and 31 points off them, according to USA Today and postgame reports.
- 24 fast-break points to the Clippers’ 6.
- 48 rebounds to 41, including 17 offensive boards.
- A largest lead of 23. The Lakers led for about 86% of the game, according to ESPN.
LaRavia scored only two points but grabbed 10 rebounds (five offensive), with three steals and two blocks in 35 minutes. Off the bench, Jarred Vanderbilt did not score but had seven rebounds and was plus-22 in 21 minutes. Redick called Vanderbilt and Mamukelashvili “probably the best pairing” in another postgame clip posted by Infanity TV.
The defense was the point of emphasis going in. Before the game, Redick said the Lakers had not “played our defense” in their previous two games, calling it a mix of “game plan mistakes” and “discipline.” One night after Portland drew 41 free throws, the Lakers held the Clippers to 87 points.
Where the Lakers still need to clean up
The win was not flawless. The Clippers went 25 of 27 at the free-throw line, and the Lakers were 24 of 33. The fourth quarter was sloppy: Los Angeles was outscored 21-18, though the lead never dipped below 13. Jaden Hardy went 0 of 6, including 0 of 5 from three, in nine minutes. Over the full game the Lakers made 9 of 31 threes (29%), and Thybulle and Sexton accounted for eight of those nine makes.
Los Angeles has now beaten the Clippers twice in six days (125-117 on Oct. 23 and 103-87 Wednesday), the second time with its best player in a suit.
What’s next
The Lakers visit the Golden State Warriors on Friday, Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. PT to open NBA Cup group play. They return home to host the Toronto Raptors on Sunday, Nov. 1 and the Miami Heat on Monday, Nov. 2. The status of Doncic and Williams for Friday has not been officially announced. Redick’s description of both absences as precautionary points toward short-term rest, but treat any return as unconfirmed until the Lakers file their injury report. Cameron Carr (oblique strain) and Adou Thiero (knee inflammation) remained out Wednesday.
Notes and conflicts
- Second-quarter score: The AP recap says the Lakers outscored the Clippers “31-6” in the second quarter. The official linescore shows 31-16 (56-38 at halftime from 25-22 after one). We use 31-16.
- Third-quarter opening: AP calls it a 12-2 Clippers run to pull within seven. The play-by-play shows 13-2 (56-38 to 58-51).
- The run: AP describes a 16-0 run, and one outlet called it 17-0. The ESPN play-by-play supports 16 straight points, from 29-31 to 45-31.
- Points off turnovers: The 31-point figure comes from USA Today and postgame reporting. Box-score feeds have presented this stat inconsistently, so treat it as reported rather than verified against NBA.com.
- Doncic’s return: One outlet suggested Doncic and Williams should be back Friday. The Lakers have not confirmed that.
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