On January 20th, Beijing time, the NBA 2024-25 season regular season staged a Western Conference focus match, with the Los Angeles Lakers challenging the Clippers. This is a city derby. This season marks the first meeting between the two teams, with the Lakers holding a slight advantage over the Clippers in their four encounters last season, winning three out of four games. Obviously, these two teams are always the focus of the event. Compared to the Clippers, the Lakers have a significant advantage in terms of lineup this season, but they have not been able to meet expectations, with extremely fluctuating form, often experiencing multiple consecutive losses after several victories, which is really regrettable.
The key point is that this game is an important positioning battle. The Lakers currently have a total record of 22 wins and 17 losses, and have achieved 2 consecutive victories, ranking 6th in the West; while the Clippers have a total record of 23 wins and 17 losses, having won 3 consecutive victories, ranking 5th in the West. Obviously, neither team wants to lose in this game.
Before the game, American media ESPN predicted the win rate for the day's game: the Lakers' win rate is only 36.0%, while the Clippers' win rate reached 64.0%. Obviously, the American media leans more towards the Clippers winning this derby. In terms of the starting lineup, on the Lakers' side, Wood, Vanderbilt, and Hood-Scheffino were unable to play, and James was likely to play. Redick's latest starting lineup is James, Davis, Hachimura, Christie, and Reeves; on the Clippers' side, Tucker missed the game, Harden, Powell, Dunn, and Zubac all decided to participate before the game, and their starting lineup is James-Harden, Norman-Powell, Dunn, Leonard, and Zubac.
The first quarter of the game began with Harden's pass being intercepted by James, who then launched a counterattack. When Hachimura attempted a layup, Zubac delivered a nailboard block. Powell first hit a three-pointer, followed by an air cut to complete a dunk, and the Clippers scored seven points in a row at the start. Facing Harden's defense, James steadily hit a three-pointer, and in the next round he used a screen to hit another three-pointer, indicating that his shooting today is very hot. Harden challenged Christie directly, rising up to shoot and completing a difficult 3+1. Later, Harden singled down low, attracting defenders and passing the ball to Leonard, who hit a three-pointer, giving the Clippers a six-point lead, forcing the Lakers to call a timeout. James drove straight into the paint and scored a layup, at which point he had already scored eight points. Zubac grabbed an offensive rebound and made a hook shot, followed by Davis responding with a mid-range jumper. Leonard broke through into the paint and hit a fadeaway jumper against Davis, and Harden also hit a difficult step-back three-pointer. The first quarter ended with the Clippers leading the Lakers 32-26 by six points.
During the first quarter, James shot six times and made three, including five three-point attempts and two makes, scoring a total of eight points, as well as grabbing two rebounds, two assists, and one steal. Harden shot four times and made two, including three three-point attempts and two makes, scoring seven points with one rebound and one assist.
In the second quarter, during a collision, James knocked down Batum, causing Batum's eyebrow bone to bleed, while James himself was also hit in the head and painfully fell to the ground. Batum then returned to the locker room to treat his wound. Leonard knocked down Reeves and hit a fadeaway jumper, followed by Reeves immediately responding with a long-range three-pointer. James accelerated past Coffey and easily scored a layup, and the Lakers rode this momentum to launch a small scoring run, reducing the gap to three points. Christie was blocked by Zubac when breaking through, but he later broke through Zubac to score a layup, somewhat saving face. Little Porter hit a pull-up jumper, followed by a trailing three-pointer, scoring seven points in a row, and the Clippers expanded their lead to nine points. Christie forced a three-pointer against Leonard, and Harden broke through and passed behind his back, allowing Zubac to easily score a layup. Then Zubac made a long pass from the backcourt, and Coffey soared high to complete a gliding dunk during a fast break. The half-time score ended with the Clippers leading the Lakers 64-59 by five points.
The halftime data is as follows: On the Lakers' side, James shot seven times and made four, including five three-point attempts and two makes, scoring 13 points, as well as grabbing three rebounds, six assists, and one steal. He has now scored in double digits in 1258 consecutive games, continuously refreshing the NBA's first record in this category. Davis played 18 minutes, shooting eight times and making three, scoring 10 points, with five rebounds, two assists, and one steal. Reeves shot six times and made four, scoring 12 points, two rebounds, and two assists, but also had four turnovers. Looking at the Clippers, Harden shot eight times and made three, including six three-point attempts and two makes, scoring nine points, two rebounds, and four assists, with a plus-minus value of +13. Leonard shot eight times and made five, scoring 11 points, four assists, and one steal. Powell shot eight times and made six, scoring 14 points, three rebounds, and two steals.
It should be particularly noted that in the first half, the Clippers shot a total of 45 times, making 26 shots, with a shooting percentage of 58%, including 20 three-point attempts and seven makes, with a three-point shooting percentage of 35%. In comparison, the Lakers shot a total of 36 times, making 17 shots, with a shooting percentage of 47%, including 18 three-point attempts and six makes, with a three-point shooting percentage of 33%.
Changing sides for the third quarter, Harden broke through the defense and pushed Reeves aside, hitting a steady jump shot. Little Jones quickly cut in, first completing a dunk, then hitting a three-pointer, at which point the Clippers had a 21-point lead over the Lakers. James cut to the basket and received the ball, but missed an uncontested layup. However, he later completed a dunk during a fast break counterattack. Harden made a long pass from half court, Leonard caught the ball and easily scored a layup, and then the two teamed up again to complete a lob and score, widening the gap between the two teams to 26 points. Davis and James hit consecutive jumpers, Knecht broke through and delivered an assist, Hayes followed up to complete an alley-oop dunk, and the Lakers launched a 9-0 scoring run, reducing the gap to 15 points.
In the decisive fourth quarter, James made a wonderful pass to Hachimura during a counterattack, and Hachimura completed an impressive alley-oop dunk. Subsequently, Hachimura shook off Little Porter and hit a pull-up jumper. The Lakers reduced the gap to 11 points. Zubac posted up against Hayes in the low post, faked him up, and scored a 2+1 with a hook shot, stabilizing the team's morale. However, Reeves made a turnover, and Harden seized the opportunity to counterattack and steadily hit a three-pointer, expanding the Clippers' lead to 17 points. Reeves injured his ankle while fighting for a rebound, looking very painful, and later returned to the locker room, at which point the outcome of the game was no longer in doubt. Ultimately, the Clippers defeated the Lakers 116-102, winning this derby battle. The Clippers achieved a four-game winning streak, while the Lakers' two-game winning streak came to an end, and the Western Conference landscape changed once again. It must be said that the Lakers need to see the reality clearly, and Redick really needs to think deeply about the team's offensive system. If they encounter a defensively strong team like the Clippers in the playoffs, who can stand up and break the deadlock for the Lakers?
In terms of data, the Lakers' situation is as follows: James scored 25 points, 5 rebounds, 11 assists, and 3 steals, but also had 5 turnovers. He has now scored in double digits in 1259 consecutive games, continuously refreshing the NBA's historical record. Davis performed relatively poorly, shooting 14 times and making only 5, scoring 16 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 3 blocks. Reeves scored 14 points, 2 rebounds, and 3 assists, but also had 5 turnovers. Christie scored 8 points and 1 assist.
On the Clippers' side, Leonard shot 13 times and made 9, scoring 19 points, 1 rebound, and 4 assists, successfully reaching the 14,000-point milestone. Harden shot 19 times and made 7, scoring 21 points, 4 rebounds, 12 assists, and 1 steal, but also had 5 turnovers, surpassing Robertson in career total points and climbing to 14th on the historical scoring list, creating another milestone. Coffey scored 6 points and 1 assist. Powell shot 17 times and made 9, scoring 22 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals. Zubac contributed 21 points, 19 rebounds,
