Here is a by-the-numbers look at the Lakers’ 106-78 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.
16
Points scored by the Lakers in the first quarter. The purple and gold got off to a lackluster start, shooting just 8-for-21 and missing all six of their first-quarter 3-point attempts. The Clippers, meanwhile, went 9-for-20 to take a seven-point lead after one frame.
27
Assists dished out by the Clippers. Chris Paul led the way with 15 dimes, which fell one short of the most by a Lakers opponent this season. Paul, who leads the league with 10.2 assists per game, also handed out four secondary assists. Meanwhile, the Lakers had 17 as a team.
“There are a few guys out there with the ability to do that, and (Paul) is one of them,” Clippers head coach Doc Rivers said. “But he knows it and he controls it. He knows what’s going on. He has a feel for the game. He can see other guys wanting to shoot and score today.”
34
Points scored by the Clippers in the third quarter. The Clippers already held a 13-point halftime lead when they posted a 34-18 third period. During this frame, they hit two-thirds of their shots (12-for-18), while holding the Lakers to a 7-for-20 mark (35.0 percent).
Clippers Shot Chart (Third Quarter)
43
The Lakers’ biggest deficit of the night. Entering the fourth quarter down by 29, the Lakers surrendered a 16-2 run over the first four minutes of the frame, tying their biggest deficit of the season — which also came against the Clippers on Jan. 7. The game highlighted the bigger issue of health for the Lakers, who have lost seven players for the season and missed a combined 301 games due to injuries. Meanwhile, the Clippers were without Jamal Crawford (right calf contusion) and have missed 83 games.
54
Points scored by the Lakers through three quarters. For a while it seemed that the Lakers were in danger of recording their fewest points of the season, which they set on March 19 when Utah held them to 73 points. However, Dwight Buycks scored nine of their 24 points in the final period of the already sealed game to avoid this mark.
“They were pressing up,” Wesley Johnson said. “They were trying to speed us up, get us out of our normal stuff. But that’s just one thing that could have been to our advantage: get the ball moving and space the floor.”