LOS ANGELES: The appropriately hyped “Battle of Los Angeles” lived up to its billing Sunday when the crosstown rivals’ recent collision went down the last possession in front of a capacity crowd at Crypto.com Arena.
When the dust settled, the Lakers edged the Clippers, 106-103, in an action packed fourth quarter where the Clips overhauled a 12-point deficit. However, the rally fell short when Noman Powell missed 25-footer that could have forced overtime in the final second of regulation/
LeBron James hit 11-of-19 shots to finish with 25 points. Anthony Davis accounted for 22 points and 10 rebounds while Taurean Prince, added 13 on 3 of 6 shooting from long distance,
The cliffhanger win couldn’t have come at a better time for the Lakers who entered this grudge match on a losing streak, sparking rumors that coach Darvin Ham may be in the hot seat.
“We played like we need to win, like it was a must-win. We competed on both sides of the basketball,” said Lakers center Anthony Davis, who recorded 22 points, 10 rebounds, 3 steals and 1 steal.
But it was LeBron James who showed the way, this time carrying the purple-and-gold with 25 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists. Taurean Prince and D’Angelo Russell had 13 apiece.
Paul George and Ivica Zubac each had 22 for the Clippers but Kawi Leonar had a quiet 15 points of 6-for-17 shooting from the field.
“We just didn’t play a good offensive game,” Clippers coach Ty Lue said on his post-game press conference.
Winners of 14 of their 17 games, the Clippers dropped to 22-13 to stay at fourth place in the Western Conference. The Lakers improved to 18-19.
