Los Angeles Clippers and Lakers set to square off for final time in regular season

LOS ANGELES – After the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers extended their winning streak to five games with a home victory over the LA Clippers on Feb 28, the neighbours will battle for the last time in this National Basketball Association (NBA) regular season on March 2 (March 3, Singapore time).

Luka Doncic continues to round into form for the Lakers, scoring 31 points in the 106-102 victory over a team he has tormented in his career. In 19 career regular-season games against the Clippers, Doncic has averaged 32.5 points with 8.0 rebounds and 7.3 assists.

LeBron James scored 28 points with 13 rebounds as the Lakers improved to 15-3 since Jan 21, while playing without starting forward Rui Hachimura (knee) and losing starting guard Austin Reaves (right calf strain) in the first quarter.

Reaves had an MRI scan which revealed no serious injury, ESPN reported on March 1. He is listed as doubtful and Hachimura as out for the game at Crypto.com Arena on March 2.

Doncic was just one of six from three-point range in the first three quarters on Feb 28, then made two from long distance in the fourth quarter when he scored 10 points to finish off the win. Afterwards, coach J.J. Reddick sounded optimistic that a return to the Slovenian’s high-level form is close.

“It takes a while for a group to develop a collective mentality. There have been a lot of things that have happened this season,” Reddick said.

“I think our group, our ecosystem, (has) been sustained since mid-January. There were flashes of it throughout the early parts of the year, but I like who we are right now as a team.”

Doncic has averaged 21.0 points with 8.6 rebounds and 6.4 assists in his first seven games with the Lakers, following a trade-deadline deal from the Dallas Mavericks. He has averaged 25.8 points over the last four games.

The Clippers have lost four times in a five-game span for just the second time this season. Counting the Feb 28 contest, they have two more road games remaining on a stretch of eight consecutive away from home, going back to before the All-Star break.

Ivica Zubac scored 27 points with 16 rebounds for the Clippers in the loss, while Kawhi Leonard added 21 points while making eight of 17 from the field. James Harden was just five of 22 from the floor and one of 10 from three-point range while scoring 18 points.

Harden shot one of 13 in the second half alone and zero of six from deep, while also committing five of his six turnovers.

“Every possession counts, and we didn’t do a good job,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said.

“It was a two-point game when we had two turnovers in a row, which kind of helped them break the game open. So it’s just something we can learn from and just be better with.”

Harden had two turnovers and Kris Dunn had another, all in a 39-second stretch with less than three minutes to play that allowed the Lakers to seal the victory.

As the Lakers deal with their own injury issues, the Clippers have been without leading scorer Norman Powell (knee) for the past five games.

On March 1, the Clippers signed two-way guard Jordan Miller to a four-year standard deal. Miller, who has performed well in the developmental G League, has averaged 4.7 points and 1.7 rebounds in 30 games with the Clippers this season.

The Lakers not only have a 2-1 lead in the season series, but they are also 5-2 against the Clippers over the past two seasons.

In NBA action on March 1, Giannis Antetokounmpo led six scorers in double-figure scoring with 29 points as the Milwaukee Bucks cruised to a 132-117 win over the Mavericks at the American Airlines Centre.

Elsewhere, Quentin Grimes scored a career-high 44 points on 18-of-24 shooting as the Philadelphia 76ers snapped a nine-game losing streak with a 126-119 victory over the Golden State Warriors at Wells Fargo Centre. REUTERS