Keaton Wagler gave the Los Angeles Clippers the one bright line in a 103-87 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night at Intuit Dome. The rookie scored a career-high 21 points off the bench and beat the third-quarter buzzer from 46 feet. The rest of the offense never found a rhythm against a Lakers team playing without Luka Doncic and Ziaire Williams on the second night of a back-to-back. The Clippers shot 26 of 74 (35%), scored 38 points in the first half and fell to 1-3 with their third straight loss.
Wagler’s night, by the numbers
Wagler, the No. 5 overall pick in this year’s draft, played 28 minutes and kept attacking even when the shots did not fall. His line shows both sides of a rookie scoring night:
- 21 points, a career high, according to the AP.
- 4 of 15 from the field and 3 of 8 from three.
- 10 of 12 at the free-throw line, the most free throws made by any player in the game.
- 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 block.
- 3 turnovers and 5 fouls, with a minus-10 rating.
The highlight came with 1.6 seconds left in the third quarter. Kris Dunn found Wagler, and his 46-foot heave cut the deficit to 85-66 going into the fourth. Wagler also scored five of the Clippers’ 16 second-quarter points, all at the line, when nothing else was working. His ability to draw contact is real. The finishing, 1 of 7 on two-pointers, is the next step.
Where the offense went
The Clippers led 31-29 with 7:10 left in the first half after a Derrick Jones Jr. tip. Then the Lakers scored 16 straight points, and the Clippers did not score again until Darius Garland’s floater with 3:58 left. They managed 16 points in the second quarter, and the Lakers led 56-38 at the break.
The full-game shooting chart was rough almost everywhere:
- 26 of 74 from the field (35%) and 10 of 31 from three.
- Outside of Jones (6 of 10) and Wagler, the Clippers shot 16 of 49.
- Only 28 points in the paint to the Lakers’ 48.
- Only 6 fast-break points to the Lakers’ 24.
- 25 of 27 at the free-throw line (93%), which kept the margin from getting worse.
The free-throw line produced 25 of the Clippers’ 87 points, almost 29%. When the Lakers were not fouling, the Clippers struggled to score.
Head coach Tyronn Lue: “Make the simple play”
Ball security was again part of the problem. The Clippers had 24 turnovers, after 26 in each of the previous two games, and four in the first 4:49. Head coach Tyronn Lue said the early mistakes were “kind of deflating,” and that the fix is decision-making, not effort. “I can’t fault guys for trying or saying we’re being selfish,” Lue said, according to WhyNBA. “I just think the way we need to play and how teams are gonna guard us, we just gotta make the quick decision. If you see anybody in front of you, then we gotta get off of it to make the simple plays.”
Lue said the Clippers got into the paint, but “we didn’t do a good job with just kicking it out, making the right play. And I thought we got ourselves in trouble once we got too deep.” That matches the shot profile: plenty of drives, few clean finishes and few open kick-out threes.
Darius Garland is playing through back tightness
Lue also revealed that Garland has been playing hurt. “He’s playing through a little something, but he’s okay to play,” Lue said. “But he is playing through a little something, which is taking his pop away a little bit.” Asked what it was, he said, “Just a little bit of back tightness, but nothing serious.”
Garland finished with 14 points on 4-of-12 shooting, 5 assists and 5 turnovers in 26 minutes. He was minus-11. He also had his best stretch to start the third quarter. He scored or assisted on all 13 Clippers points as they opened the half on a 13-2 run and cut the deficit to 58-51. The Lakers answered with a 27-15 finish to the quarter, including 11 straight points from Collin Sexton.
Kobe Sanders’ first start, and the rest of the rotation
With Rui Hachimura out with left quad soreness, Kobe Sanders made his first start of the season. He had 9 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals in 27 minutes, with no turnovers. He shot 2 of 7, including 1 of 5 from three, and made all four of his free throws. The defense was solid. The spacing he was supposed to add did not show up.
The rest of the box score:
- Derrick Jones Jr.: 15 points, 3 of 5 from three, 4 steals and 2 blocks.
- Isaiah Jackson: 4 points and 5 rebounds in 19 minutes. He won the opening tip against Walker Kessler, but Garland did not corral it and the ball rolled out of bounds, according to USA Today.
- Kris Dunn: 5 points and 3 assists.
- Baba Miller: 4 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks off the bench.
- Gradey Dick: 5 points on 1-of-4 shooting, minus-14.
- Brook Lopez: 2 points on 1-of-5 shooting in 22 minutes, a game-worst minus-21.
- Cam Christie: 0 of 5 from the field in 14 minutes.
The bigger picture after four games
The Clippers opened with a 121-96 win over the Sacramento Kings. They have since lost 125-117 to the Lakers, 108-101 to the Oklahoma City Thunder and now 103-87 to the Lakers again. They have 94 turnovers through four games. USA Today reported that they are the first team since 2002 with 24 or more turnovers in three straight games.
The injury list remains a factor. Bradley Beal (knee inflammation), Brandon Ingram (Achilles surgery), Max Strus (plantar fasciitis) and Yanic Konan Niederhauser (foot surgery) were out, and Hachimura was listed day-to-day. There is no confirmed timeline for Hachimura’s return.
What’s next
The Clippers open NBA Cup group play at the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday, Oct. 30 at 5 p.m. PT. They visit the Golden State Warriors on Sunday, Nov. 1 at 5:30 p.m. PT, then host the Toronto Raptors on Monday, Nov. 2. For Wagler, the question is whether 21 points, mostly at the line, is the start of a bigger role. For the Clippers, the question is whether Hachimura’s return and a healthier Garland can restore enough spacing to make those drives work.
Notes and conflicts
- Second quarter: The AP recap says the Lakers won the second quarter “31-6.” The official linescore shows 31-16.
- Third-quarter run: AP calls the Clippers’ opening burst a 12-2 run. The ESPN play-by-play shows 13-2 (56-38 to 58-51).
- Points off turnovers: USA Today and WhyNBA report that the Lakers scored 31 points off turnovers. We have not verified this against NBA.com.
- Turnover streak: The “first team since 2002” note comes from USA Today and has not been independently verified.
For more Clippers coverage and NBA breakdowns, subscribe to Infanity TV on YouTube.
