The Lakers’ slide down the Western Conference standings grew ever more slippery on Monday night.
Against one of the teams they’re chasing for a playoff spot, the Lakers instead fell 5 1/2 games out of the postseason picture after suffering a 113-105 loss to the LA Clippers.
“This was definitely a game we needed tonight for obvious reasons,” LeBron James said. “This is a team we’re chasing. We didn’t take care of business.”
James finished the night with 27 points, eight rebounds and six assists, as he was able to get to the basket and draw contact against a variety of Clippers defenders — from point guards to centers.
And while Rajon Rondo — who took defenders off the dribble and splashed four 3-pointers — put up a season-high 24 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds, it still wasn’t enough.
In part, this stemmed from the Lakers’ rash of injuries.
Brandon Ingram — who has averaged 27.8 points in his last six games — was a late scratch due to right shoulder soreness. Kyle Kuzma left the game late with a sprained right ankle. Lonzo Ball has been out six weeks because of a left ankle sprain.
“I haven’t been a part of a season with this ton of injuries to all our key guys,” said James, who missed five weeks himself earlier in the season, “to big, big key guys. This is just the way the season has been.”
With injuries weighing down, the Lakers (30-34) shot just 41.8 percent from the field and 26.3 percent on 3-pointers.
Meanwhile, the Clippers (37-29) hummed along with a group effort. Danilo Gallinari (23 points) and Lou Williams (21) led the way. Patrick Beverley (13 points, nine rebounds, five steals) shined on both sides of the ball. Montrezl Harrell (14 points, 11 rebounds) had a double-double.
And the Clippers continued their march to a playoff spot while the Lakers attempt to narrow their focus to the day-to-day.
“Everyone’s been talking about the postseason,” James said. “We need to worry about each and every game, how we can get better with our process and better with our team.”
Notes
LeBron is now 13 points away from passing Michael Jordan for the fourth-most career points in NBA history. … Rondo joined Mark Jackson as the only players to ever record a triple-double with five different teams. … Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Robbie Keane, Canelo Alvarez and Scottie Pippen were among the sold-out crowd.