Tough Night for LA Fans, as Both Lakers and Clippers Record Tough Losses

The NBA team from Los Angeles will try to forget Wednesday night as soon as possible, as both the Lakers and the Clippers had terrible performances. The purple and gold lost in OKC, while the Clippers took a massive beating at home vs. Cleveland Cavaliers.

Lakers had a 56-30 lead in the second period, but lost in the end, 123-115. They froze in the third period allowing the winless OKC to drop 41 points and get back in the game before taking a win in a close finish,

With the game on the line and the Thunder having a three-point advantage, Frank Vogels’ players missed three long-distance shots, practically handing the victory to the confused hosts who won because of the rivals’ mistakes, not their good performance.

LeBron James didn’t play, resting his ankle, while Russell Westbrook and Anthony Davis began the game. Davis had 30 points with 8 rebounds, while Westbrook posted a triple-double. The Thunder legend had 20 points, 14 boards, and 13 assists, and also added 10 turnovers.

Westbrook, who was loudly welcomed by the fans, was ejected 1.5 seconds before the end of the game. He had an incident with Darius Bazley, who didn’t run down the clock but dunked even though OKC already won.

“We’re old-school,” Westbrook said. “When (expletive) like that happens, I don’t let it slide. I take it on the chin and move on. In the game of basketball, there’s certain things you don’t do.”

Carmelo Anthony scored 13 points, the same as Avery Bradley, both off the bench. Melo was shooting 1-for-8 for three points.

On the other side, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 27 buckets with nine boards and five assists, hitting five threes. Bazley had 20 with six boards, and the no.6 pick from this draft, Josh Giddey, had 18 points and 10 assists. Lucas Dort added 17 and Derrick Favors 15 buckets.

Meanwhile, the Cleveland Cavaliers limited the Clippers at Staples to just 79 points. The final result was 92-79, with the Cavs winning for the first time since 2016.

Tyronn Lue’s side scored 14 points in the first and 15 in the closing period, which pretty much determined the final result. Paul George had just 12 points, shooting 6-for-20 and adding 10 boards. Nicola Batum and Reggie Jackson posted 16 each.

Overall the Clippers shot 35.6% from the field, which is terrible, making only nine of 41 threes. On top of that, the Cavs outrebounded the hosts, 57-36.

Collin Sexton was 12-for-20 from the field, for 26 points and seven rebounds, while his backcourt partner, Darius Garland, had 16. The third pick from this draft, Evan Mobley, contributed with a double-double, 12 buckets, and 10 boards.

“After a night like this, the only way is to get better,” George said to the reporters.

For the moment, things aren’t as LA fans expected. The Lakers have two wins and three losses, while the Clippers have a win and three defeats. Not the start they planned, that is for sure.

The two local rivals were projected to attack the title, but playoffs might become a hard task the way they play right now. Lakers lack chemistry both on and off the court, and we saw that on numerous occasions in these past four matches.

Meanwhile, the Clippers have to get healthy first and then to see where they stand. Right now, they have several big-time players injured, the most notable name among them, Kawhi Leonard. After that, we’ll see what their capabilities are, but for the moment, things aren’t looking bright for the LA teams.