Los Angeles Clippers Hold Off Lakers, 119-115
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — The Los Angeles Clippers came out on top in a nailbiter against their intra-stadium rival the Los Angeles Lakers, 119-115.
Marcus Morris Sr. led the Clippers in scoring with 21 points, converting 6 of his 9 three-point attempts one of which iced the game. Paul George scored 19 points shooting 7 for 20 from the field, after being inactive last game for his first rest day of the season. Luke Kennard came off the bench and matched George's 19 points shooting an efficient 70% overall and 62.5% from three.
After a quick two fouls in the first quarter, Anthony Davis recorded his eleventh double-double of the season with 27 points and 10 rebounds. In his first game back after clearing health and safety protocols, LeBron James dropped 23 points and 11 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. Malik Monk helped the Lakers keep the game close, providing much-needed bench scoring with 20 points, knocking down 8-15 overall and 4-8 from beyond the arc.
The Clippers were able to come out on top simply because they were able to make their free throws. In the first half, the Clips converted 19 of their 20 attempts nearly doubling the Lakers' 10 attempts. The Lakers finished with a 61.9% free throw percentage converting only 13 of their 21 attempts. The Clippers only went to the line three more times for the rest of the game but didn't miss and finished 21-24.
The Clippers will travel on the road to the Sacramento Kings Saturday, Dec. 4. The Lakers will stay at home and face the Boston Celtics on Dec. 7.