After getting some time off for the All-Star break, the Los Angeles Lakers were back in action on Friday night when they hosted the L.A. Clippers at Crypto.com Arena.<\/p>\n
This was really the first time the Lakers have been fully healthy all season as LeBron James was able to play despite dealing with some knee soreness. As a result, the Lakers were able come away with a 125-122 win over the Clippers. This was the final of four matchups between the two L.A. teams this season with each team winning their two home games.<\/p>\n
Brook Lopez got the Clippers off to a hot start with their first seven points, although Austin Reaves responded with the first seven for the Lakers as well.<\/p>\n
James then got going with a transition layup, fadeaway midrange and then a triple to give his team their first lead. Luka Doncic also started to pick it up, hitting a pair of deep 3-pointers and then finding Jaxson Hayes for a lob.<\/p>\n
The Lakers had a strong close to the first quarter with Doncic hitting another pair of 3s and then Luke Kennard and Jake LaRavia both connecting as well to give them a 41-30 lead.<\/p>\n
James took a hard elbow to the ribs early in the second quarter, which was upgraded to a Flagrant 1 foul. Before the Lakers could extend their lead though, Kawhi Leonard had six straight points to keep it within striking distance.<\/p>\n
Leonard continued to do whatever he wanted offensively, but Doncic also returned to the game and picked up where he left off in the first quarter. The two superstars were going back and forth for a while, and the Lakers took a 72-65 lead into the halftime locker room.<\/p>\n
The Lakers came out strong in the third quarter to quickly build their lead back up to 15, although that was met with a 20-3 Clippers run to regain the lead.<\/p>\n
With the Lakers pressing a bit, Doncic hit another 3 to settle them back in, and then Kennard drove for a layup.<\/p>\n
Bennedict Mathurin was in attack mode for the Clippers and finished a pair of three-point plays, but Reaves led a nice spurt to end the third quarter, giving the Lakers a 99-95 lead.<\/p>\n
It wasn’t a great start to the fourth for the Lakers as they struggled to keep the Clippers off the free throw line. Lopez then hit a corner triple to take the lead back for his team.<\/p>\n
After not taking a single shot all night, Marcus Smart drilled back-to-back jumpers to help out a struggling Lakers offense. Doncic then had a steal and a 3, getting back on track after a cold stretch.<\/p>\n
Late in the fourth, Leonard was ruled out due to left ankle soreness and Mathurin fouled out. That took the wind out of the Clippers’ sails as the Lakers went on to close out the victory.<\/p>\n
The Lakers will be back on the court on Sunday afternoon when they host the rival Boston Celtics at 3:30 p.m. PT on NBC and Peacock.<\/p>\n