Domination continues

The LA Clippers continued their recent dominance over their locker room neighbors, the LA Lakers, with a 125-118 win that had major playoff implications.

Summary

Coming into the Wednesday’s game, there was a different air in the arena. You could feel the energy as soon as you walked into the building.

Throughout Tyronn Lue’s time as head coach of the Clippers, they have dominated their head-to-head regular season matchups against the Lakers with a perfect 10-0 record. But none of the games they’ve played against each other have been of much consequence.

This one was different though. The Lakers were tied in the loss column with the Clippers. The outcome of the game would likely decide who would secure a top six seed and who would be forced to have their playoff fate determined by the play-in. This one meant something.

But it was just another day at the office for Kawhi Leonard. A master of blocking out any outside noise, it wasn’t surprising that Leonard didn’t think this game mattered more than any other game he’s played against the Lakers, even with him having to play the entire second half.

“I didn’t feel that way,” Leonard said after the game. When pressed further, Leonard responded with the same five words.

Throughout the game, Leonard got to his spots on the court and reacted to how the defense was playing him. If he had the advantage, he took the shot. If he found himself swarmed, he found the open teammate. He finished with 25 points on 9-17 shooting, seven rebounds and four assists. He was steady throughout.

But the story of the first quarter was Russell Westbrook. The Clippers have been notorious for getting off to slow starts this season but Westbrook came out and set the tone from the opening tip with ten points in the opening period.

“Every night he’s coming out with energy, being aggressive no matter what game it is,” Leonard said. “He’s helping us be a better team, be a faster team, be more organized, him having the ball and pointing us in our spots.”

The second quarter, and for most of the second half, it was the Clippers bench that proved most pivotal. The trio of Norman Powell, Terance Mann and Bones Hyland brought a ton of energy and aggressiveness that was needed especially in the second half when the starters hit a lull.

Powell was in his earlier season form before he was sidelined with a shoulder injury. He finished with a team-high 27 points and flipped the Lakers free-throw attack back on them. Powell got to the line a game-high ten times and knocked them all down. A couple of the fouls he drew came at a key time in the third quarter when the Lakers were on a roll.

Hyland was key in particular in the fourth quarter holding off a late Lakers rally with several key three-pointers. Mann was solid throughout the game with his active defense and play in transition. There were a few possessions where Mann was matched up with LeBron James defensively and he held his own.

“Norm and Bones came in and changed the pace and tempo of the game,” Tyronn Lue said after the game. “I’m just happy for Bones and Norm coming off the bench and giving us a huge spark and they were able to seal the game.”

With the win, the Clippers moved one step closer to securing a top-six finish in the Western Conference and avoiding the play-in. There are still two games left, Saturday at home against the Portland Trail Blazers and Sunday on the road against the Phoenix Suns. The Clippers control their own destiny. Win out and avoid the play-in. Lose, and things are going to look a little bit murky.

And the play-in is not something that Lue wants to face.

“I’m not a fan of the play-in, me personally,” Lue said. “We didn’t make it last year and we fought so hard to get a top eight seed, you don’t make it, it’s tough. We knew today was a big game to try and stay away from that. We’re still not out of the clear yet, but today was a big game for us going into these last two.”