On Wednesday, the Los Angeles Lakers facing off against the Los Angeles Clippers in the Pacific Division showdown at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Latest news on LeBron James, Anthony Davis and D’Angelo Russell
The four-game regular-season series between these city rivals comes to an end, and the Clippers hope to sweep the Lakers for the third straight year.
Last night, the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Utah Jazz 135-133 thanks to 37 points from LeBron James.
James has now won a game with less than 30 seconds left in the fourth quarter or overtime 40 times in his career, and that doesn’t count the playoffs.
“This has been us lately. We’ve been one of the top teams defensively,” James said. “We had to get stops and we did that.”
Anthony Davis had 21 points and 14 rebounds. And Austin Reaves added 28 more. Los Angeles won their seventh straight game because five different players scored 10 or more points.
Ham indicated that D’Angelo Russell’s (foot) absence from Tuesday’s game against the Jazz was only preventative, so the 26-year-old guard should play in Wednesday’s second half of the Lakers’ back-to-back.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Clippers (41-38; 39-40 ATS) have lost three of their last five games. These losses happened on the road against the Memphis Grizzlies (108-94) and the New Orleans Pelicans (122-114).
After their loss on Saturday, they no longer have a half-game lead over the Pelicans in the race to avoid the Western Conference Play-In Tournament.
The Clippers lost at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans on Saturday, even though Kawhi Leonard scored 40 points for them.
Kawhi went 15-for-28 from the field and 6-for-6 from the free throw line against the Pels. Russell Westbrook scored 24 points and passed the ball 10 times. Ivica Zubac added 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 block.
Leonard played in the second game of a back-to-back set for the first time all season. Based on how he played, it seems like he wasn’t tired.
After an injury-filled start to the season, Leonard has probably been an important part of the Clippers. Leonard is expected to play in all three of the Clippers’ games this week.
With Paul George still out for the season with an injury, the Clippers will need a big performance from Leonard if they want to make the playoffs.
Clippers injuries:
- Eric Gordon (Hip) – Questionable
- Marcus Morris (Covid-19) – Questionable
- Paul George (Knee) – Out
Lakers injuries:
- Mo Bamba (Ankle) – Questionable
- Scotty Pippen Jr. (Ankle) – Questionable
- D’Angelo Russell (Foot) – Questionable
