LOS ANGELES — Kawhi’s triple double helps Clippers handle the Lakers without Lebron, 127-116
Kawhi Leonard triple double included 27 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to lead the way for the Clippers. Leonard was also extremely efficiently tonight as he shot 11/16 from the floor.
“Grinding it out man, through adversity we stuck together,” Russell Westbrook said “Did a great job playing together, did a great job of playing together defensively.”
Norman Powell and Russell Westbrook helped boost 31 of the 43 points from the Clippers bench. They outscored the entire Lakers bench who only had 29 points on the night.
Despite the loss, the Lakers did receive a good performance from D’Angelo Russell in the absence of Lebron. Russell also tallied 27 points and 10 assists as well to match the efforts from Kawhi Leonard.
The Lakers also received a good effort from their star center, Anthony Davis who scored 26 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.
Although Russell and Davis combined for 53 points, they were no match from the shooting display the Clippers put on in the game.
The Clippers were blistering hot from the field as they made 14/27 of their three pointers. This was part of their total 59.1% shooting from the field.
The Clippers came out the game strong and were able to took a 13 point lead at halftime. However the Lakers were able to rally in the second half as they cut the lead down to 113-108 with a little less than 7 minutes to go.
The Clippers then took over the final stretch of the game as Kawhi Leonard and Norman Powell were able to make important baskets to push the lead back to double digits as the time ran down for a comfortable victory.
The Lakers won the first two games of the LA rivalry but the Clippers were able to take down the Lakers for the first time this season. The Lakers still lead the regular season series 2-1.
The Clippers have now won four games in a row to improve their overall record to 28-14 on the season.
The Clippers will look to extend their winning streak to five games as they head to Toronto on Friday to take on a struggling Raptors team that has lost three in a row.
