The instrumental track behind one of Los Angeles’ biggest songs played over the Intuit Dome’s best-that-money-can-buy sound system late in the opening half — the perfect tune for what had been unfolding.
Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” wasn’t a Lakers diss track, and he didn’t even have to rap the chorus for the point to be driven home.
All the things that have made the Clippers one of the surprises of the NBA season threaten to make the Lakers a disappointment, hurdles the team has yet to conquer and ones that, barring roster reconstruction, just might never happen.
Defensive pressure all over the court? Yeah, the Lakers aren’t like that.
Consistent toughness and size? The Clippers have it.
Clear offensive identity and buy in? Well, the Lakers aren’t like that either.
The scoreboard confirmed the obvious for most of the Clippers’ 116-102 win Sunday night in the first meeting between the teams this season.
While the Lakers might have higher expectations because of their stars and because they’ve already been active on the trade market, the Clippers played Sunday like a team fully confident in itself, its identity and its plans for the future.
Sunday, their best basketball came when the game was already probably decided. Late in the third, while a “Let’s go Lakers” chant broke out in a primarily pro-Clippers crowd, the Lakers made a push, cutting a 26-point lead down to 11. But LeBron James, one of the instigators during that stretch, missed three point-blank looks at the basket with the Lakers needing to be perfect to have a real chance at a comeback.
They were not.
James led the Lakers (22-18) with 25 points and 11 assists and Rui Hachimura scored 19, but no other Lakers player made a sizable offensive influence, including Anthony Davis, who scored 16 points on five-for-14 shooting and Austin Reaves, who had 14, but could only create six shots. He left the game hobbling after appearing to injure his knee in the fourth.
The Lakers’ weaknesses are evident. They tried to keep Ivica Zubac from dominating the paint, but the former Laker took advantage of the Lakers’ lack of size, finishing with 21 points and 19 rebounds. They need playmaking help for Reaves and James, the two primary ballhandlers each accounting for five of the Lakers’ 17 turnovers.
And they need more defensive toughness to help limit a team like the Clippers, who drive so much offense from the perimeter, to tougher nights than 52.8% shooting.
The Clippers, people around the league almost unanimously expect, will likely be quiet at the trade deadline (despite having a number of players coveted by NBA teams). Their big move is more straightforward — reintegrating Kawhi Leonard as they try to keep him available for the rest of the season.
Leonard played 24 minutes and 17 seconds — a season high — as he continues to work back from the knee issues that have bothered him much of his time with the Clippers. He scored 19 points on only 13 shots, dishing out three of his four assists early in the first quarter to help the Clippers set the tone.
Norman Powell finished with 22 points and James Harden had 21 points and 12 assists for the Clippers (24-17).
The schedule will probably lessen the luster from the Clippers, who have won their last three games by an average of 34 points. They play five times this week, their schedule moved around as a result of wildfire postponements.
The Lakers have two more chances at home before beginning their annual Grammy road trip, hosting Washington on Tuesday before another rivalry game Thursday against the Celtics.
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