In the sea of NBA games this Sunday night, two were particularly interesting. Both of them included teams from Los Angeles, both took place at Staples Center, but in the end, they provided mixed results. The Lakers lost against Dallas Mavericks and Luka Doncic, while Clippers demolished the Washington Wizards.
Luka’s Amazing Second Half
The reigning rookie of the year scored just 6 points in the first half. But he completely destroyed the Lakers in the second, adding 21 points and ripping apart LeBron James. The young Slovenian was more than comfortable while outplaying one of the best-ever players in front of his own crowd. Eventually, the guests from Texas won 114-100.
Dallas (13-6) made a 17-0 run in the third, to take down one of the most prominent candidates for the title, and the league-leading team at the moment. It was a revenge for an OT loss back at the start of November.
The Lakers (17-3) had a lead at the halftime, 62-59, mostly due to LeBron and Anthony Davis, who were, in fact, the only ones to step up among the home team. But all that changed when Mavs’ youngster took over the wheel.
LBJ ended the night with 25 points, 9 boards and 8 assists, and Davis added 27 with 10 boards. These two were 1 of 7 from downtown, and overall, the entire Lakers’ team was poor from behind the arc, 7 of 27. Alex Caruso scored 10 points.
Among the Mavericks, Luka scored 27 and was one board shy of a triple-double, with 10 assists and 9 rebounds. Three players had 15 points, Dwight Powell, Justin Jackson, and Kristaps Porzingis.
Delon Wright scored 17, with 9 assists. Dallas faces New Orleans Pelicans nex, while Lakers head for Denver to meet the Nuggets.
Clippers’ Superb Offense
Doc Rivers’ team scored 82 points in the opening half of the game against the Washington Wizards. It is the season-high in the NBA this season. It was a pure rhapsody watching the Clippers in those moments.
They weren’t that dominant in the first quarter, although they dropped 39 points, due to Wizards’ 35. However, the second was more than superb. It concluded with the home team outscoring the guys from the US capital with 43-22. Throughout the first half, Paul George was on fire, scoring 27 points, and destroying Washington single-handily.
Wizards briefly responded, taking the third quarter mostly because of the rookie, Rui Hachimura, who had 30 points tonight. Yet, It wasn’t enough for some serious threat, and on the other hand, the Clippers responded immediately afterward.
Kawhi Leonard replaced George in the second half, and the Claw ended the night with 34 points, and 6 board. George scored 31 with 8 rebounds, while Montrezl Harrell closed the night with 23 points and a personal-best 15 rebounds. Lou Williams was also excellent with 22 points and 8 assists.
Bradley Beal had a double-double with 23 buckets and 11 dimes but didn’t hit a three. Davis Bertans delivered 20, and Ish Thomas 16. They will be playing against the Orlando Magic at home this Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Clippers face the Portland Trail Blazers also on Tuesday, and afterward, have a massive game versus the Milwaukee Bucks on the road.
