The game may have been played on the Clippers’ court Friday night, but Julius Randle was the one owning the paint.
The sophomore did most of his work down low, piling up a career-high 23 points and 14 rebounds, yet his most glaring issue was shared by his teammates, as they couldn’t stop turning the ball over in a 105-93 loss.
“I had too many of them myself with six,” Randle said. “We had a spurt in the third quarter, took the lead and then had like five straight turnovers. Then in the fourth, when we were trying to make a comeback, we got a couple turnovers in a row, so you just can’t win like that in crunch times.”
In spite of the turnovers, Randle pieced together one of the most impressive performances of his infant career by shooting 9-of-16 while recording his team-leading 17th double-double of the year.
The 21-year-old was back in the starting lineup for the fifth straight game, but head coach Byron Scott wouldn’t say whether that would extend past its trial period, which ended with this game against their Staples Center co-tenants.
”He is just getting better and better,” Scott said. “He still has some things he has to continue to focus on, but I liked what I saw tonight.”
Randle’s teammate, D’Angelo Russell, shared Scott’s review of his teammate’s night, but also said that he has much more within him.
“He had that pop about him tonight that allows him to separate himself from anyone guarding him,” Russell said. “Honestly, you say that he had one of his best games, but I know what he’s capable of. I know he can do much better.”
Giving It Away
The Lakers erupted to open the second half, scoring 13 unanswered points early on to take a 63-59 lead. But it quickly dissipated, as the purple and gold coughed up seven of its 17 turnovers in that quarter alone.
“The margin for error was so slim we couldn’t afford to give that many possessions away,” Scott said. “And then they were getting layups on the other end because of our turnovers.”
Like in that third-quarter rush, the Lakers (9-40) also began the game with a strong effort. They led by one after the first period which saw Jordan Clarkson score nine of his 17 points.
However, the Clippers (31-16) roared back behind Chris Paul, who racked up 27 points (11-of-28) and seven assists the day after being named to his ninth consecutive All-Star Game.
With leading scorer Blake Griffin (torn quad tendon, hand fracture) sidelined for at least a month, Paul received little offensive assistance from his fellow core players, J.J. Redick and DeAndre Jordan, who combined for only 13 points.
But the bench came through instead, as the Clippers’ reserves outscored the Lakers’, 56-25, primarily thanks to Austin Rivers (17 points), Lance Stephenson (16) and Jamal Crawford (15).
Though Randle provided 11 points in the final period, it wasn’t enough for the Lakers to rally and avoid dropping their ninth straight game, both overall and against the Clippers.
Notes
Jordan grabbed 17 rebounds for the Clippers. … Both teams were without their respective participants from the 2008 and 2010 NBA Finals, as Kobe Bryant (sore shoulder and Achilles) and Paul Pierce (rest) both sat out. … An audience of 19,495 sold out Staples Center.
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