Austin Reaves had 28 points and nine assists, Walker Kessler added 22 points and six blocked shots, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Los Angeles Clippers 125-117 on Oct. 23 at Crypto.com Arena. Luka Dončić finished with 23 points but shot 8-of-21 and committed a career-high 11 turnovers, three more than his made field goals. His previous high was nine, which he had reached six times. The win moved the Lakers to 2-0.
Reaves carried the half-court offense. He shot 10 of 13 from the floor, knocked down 3 of 5 from beyond the arc, and went 5-of-6 at the line in 38 minutes.
Kessler missed his first shot in a Lakers uniform on the opening possession, short-arming a layup attempt after he went 12 for 12 in his debut against Golden State, then made his next eight shots. He finished 10-of-14 with eight rebounds and three steals, and has scored at least 20 points in both games.
The Lakers trailed 31-27 after the first quarter and the game was tied 64-64 at halftime. They won the third quarter 39-26, then lost the fourth 27-22, committing a flurry of fourth-quarter turnovers that allowed the Clippers to slice a 15-point lead to six points late in the game.
The Lakers finished with 21 turnovers while shooting 46-of-79 (58.2%). The Clippers gave it away 25 times themselves and shot 41-of-83. Six Lakers scored at least 13 points: Reaves, Dončić, Kessler, Ziaire Williams with 14, and Matisse Thybulle and Quentin Grimes with 13 each.
Afterward, Dončić said his game was terrible. He also said the team’s second-half improvement began with its defense, which helped Los Angeles pull away in the third quarter.
The Lakers Won on Efficiency That Will Be Hard to Repeat
This roster can absorb a bad night from Dončić, but this win came with conditions. The Lakers shot 58.2% from the field and needed 20 made field goals on 27 attempts from Reaves and Kessler to cover 21 giveaways, more than half of them Dončić’s.
Kessler has gone 22-of-26 through two games, and that is not a rate any center sustains. When the shooting cooled in the fourth quarter, the turnovers nearly cost the Lakers a 15-point lead.
The supporting cast proved it can score on a night Dončić is off. The open question is ball security, and it involves the whole team, not just Dončić.
The Clippers Get Another Look at This Offense on Oct. 28
The Lakers play at the Utah Jazz on Sunday, Oct. 25, at Delta Center, then host the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday, Oct. 27. They visit the Clippers on Oct. 28 at Intuit Dome, the first chance to see whether Los Angeles can protect the ball against the defense that forced 21 turnovers in this game.
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