When Luka Doncic sustained a left leg contusion and sat out the entire second half of a 103-88 loss to the Clippers at Intuit Dome on Saturday night, he became the latest in a growing list of ailing Lakers.
Doncic played 19 minutes in the first half but didn’t return for the third quarter. He had 12 points, five rebounds and two assists at the break. But Doncic struggled with his shooting, going four for 13 from the field and one for six from three-point range.
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Doncic entered as the leading scorer in the NBA, averaging 35.2 points per game, and was third in assists, averaging 9.1. He had torched the Clippers for 43 points in a win last month.
“He told me at halftime he couldn’t go,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “I don’t have any other information.”
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Rui Hachimura missed his first start of the season because of a sore groin that is expected to keep him out three to five days. Austin Reaves (left calf), Deandre Ayton (left elbow) and Gabe Vincent (lower back tightness) also are out.
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The Clippers also lost a key player Saturday when center Ivica Zubac sustained a left ankle injury in the first quarter. Zubac, who has played every game this season and leads the team in rebounds and blocks, logged just 11 minutes.
The Clippers (7-21) entered the game tied for the worst record in the Western Conference. They had lost five games in a row, eight straight at home and 10 of their last 11 overall.
They got off to a good start Saturday, building a 22-point lead over the Lakers (19-8), who cut their deficit to seven points in the fourth quarter before fading. It was the Lakers’ season low in points.
Lakers star Lebron James puts up a shot over multiple Clippers defenders during the Clippers’ 103-88 win Saturday at the Intuit Dome. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
“No matter what the circumstance is, it’s still next man up,” said LeBron James, who led the Lakers with 36 points. “We’re all professionals. We all got to stay ready. So, obviously very challenging circumstances for our ballclub tonight. But I think we played extremely hard. We followed our keys. We just came up short.”
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Kawhi Leonard had 32 points and 12 rebounds for the Clippers and James Harden had 21 points and 10 assists.
Before the game, Redick wanted the Lakers to “just manage the game and play with the right spirit.”
But the Lakers fell into a 17-point deficit in the first quarter and couldn’t recover.
Redick said Hachimura sat out after he felt hip pain against Utah on Thursday night. Reaves was “continuing to push himself” to return soon, Redick said, and Ayton had “swelling” in his elbow but had a “brisk, intense individual workout.”
Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, sitting next to Bill Gates, celebrates after the Clippers take a commanding lead over the Lakers on Saturday. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
Redick said it’s possible Reaves and Ayton could return Tuesday at Phoenix.
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After the game, Redick lauded how the Lakers put up a good fight despite their rash of injuries.
Jake LaRavia, who had 12 points and 11 rebounds and Nick Smith Jr, who had nine points off the bench, helped the Lakers stay within striking distance.
But the Lakers struggled to make shots. They shot 39% (34 for 88) from the field, 16% (six for 38) from three-point range and 61% (14 for 23) at the line.
“I thought all the guys, about 90% of them, they brought it,” Redick said. “And we defended at a high level. Made it tough on their stars. … Yes, just highly, highly competitive group today and really proud of them.”
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
