Two days after going toe-to-toe with the defending NBA champions, the Lakers had no such success against their in-arena neighbors.
The Lakers led for most of Sunday’s loss against Cleveland, but never found themselves on top in their subsequent 133-109 defeat against the LA Clippers.
The Clippers (43-29) never offered much of a chance, bolting out to an 11-2 lead in the opening minutes. After taking a nine-point lead out of the first quarter, they poured it on by outscoring the Lakers (20-51) by 21 in the second to take a 70-40 lead into halftime.
Head coach Luke Walton elected to send a message at the beginning of the second half, benching his entire starting lineup.
“(Walton) told us that’s unacceptable to come out like that, and I think it was embarrassing for us to be down like that,” Brandon Ingram said. “It’s just something that can’t happen.”
One of the players who stepped in, Thomas Robinson, took full advantage by racking up all 16 of his points in the third quarter alone.
But it was clearly the Clippers’ night, as evidenced by Jamal Crawford firing a rainbow shot from halfcourt that somehow swished its way through the net as the third-quarter buzzer sounded.
With the game well in hand, the Lakers made the score a bit more respectable in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Clippers 35-25.
The Clippers rested their leading scorers — Chris Paul (27 points) and J.J. Redick (24) — in this final period, as well as the rest of their starters.
Meanwhile, the Lakers bolstered their stats against the backups, as Ingram finished with 21 points — one shy of his career-high — while Julius Randle (19 points), D’Angelo Russell (18) and Ivica Zubac (17) also added some numbers.
With the Lakers’ next game on Friday, Walton had planned to give his players the day off on Wednesday. However, based on the lack of effort against the Clippers, he decided to reverse that decision.
“From the start, the Clippers got whatever they wanted,” he said. “You could just see the rhythm building. I told them: Once you let a talented team get in a rhythm, they were just out there having target practice on us.”
Notes
The Clippers shot 53.6 percent from the field while hitting 15 3-pointers and 28 free throws. … The Lakers outscored the Clippers in the paint, 60-36. … DeAndre Jordan (12 points, 11 rebounds) had a double-double by halftime for the Clippers. … A crowd of 18,724 was on hand at Staples Center, including Olympian Michael Phelps, actress Daisy Ridley and singer Meghan Trainor.