LOS ANGELES -- Terrence Mann had 19 points and 10 rebounds, Amir Coffey added 12 of his 14 in the fourth quarter, and the Los Angeles Clippers returned from the All-Star break with a 105-102 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday. Of. Night.
Luke Kennard scored 18 points as the Clippers scored a sixth consecutive win over the Lakers in the latest meeting between two under-achieved, injury-prone NBA franchises from Los Angeles while they begin the next push to salvage their season.
In this local derby, the Clippers took one game ahead of the Lakers in the loss column, securing a season-series win. Both advantages can be significant at playoff time for the two teams headed for a play-in tournament if they make it to the postseason at all.
"When we got down to five or six, we just kept our composure, kept our balance and kept playing," said Clippers coach Tyrone Lew. "In that third quarter, I thought we should let the game take us away, but to keep our composure and come back and win, I thought it was big for us."
Carmelo Anthony missed a long go-forward jumper with 4 seconds to play and LeBron James missed a 3-point effort on the buzzer for the Lakers, his fourth loss in five games under .500 fallen.
James had 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, while Anthony and Russell Westbrook scored 18 points, being 16 points late in the first half to hold a small lead for most of the fourth quarter. Anthony hit four 3-pointers in his first game since February 3, after missing three weeks with a strained hamstring.
Klips put forward with 1:05 to play after Coffey's free throw, the Lakers went back on two free throws from Austin Reeves, but Marcus Morris drilled a jumper under tight defense. After two lengthy replay reviews, the Clippers breached 8 seconds with 17.8 seconds, but Anthony missed a 3-pointer from behind the line with 4 seconds to play.
The first review encouraged Lakers coach Frank Vogel with the decision that James was out of bounds at baseline. Lew and the Clippers emphatically thought the review was accurate.
"I couldn't disagree more strongly with this decision," Vogel said. "That's wrong. It should have been our ball in that situation."
Reggie Jackson hit two free throws, and James couldn't make it to his final heave. Jackson scored 17 points for the Clippers, who won three of the four points going into the break despite being without three of their best players: Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and newly acquired Norman Powell.
"We're going to do everything we can to keep it going and carry it on their shoulders when they come back," Jackson said. "The thing about this team is that we understand that there is light at the end of the tunnel and they are going to come back at some point."
Talen Horton-Tucker scored all of his 16 points in the second half, while Dwight Howard had a season-high score of 14 points and 16 rebounds as the Lakers began another stretch without Anthony Davis, who lost his right hand before his final game. Leg sprained. Davis will be out for at least a month after missing 21 of the Lakers' first 58 games, along with other woes that broke out nine days ago.
The Lakers were down 49-33 with three minutes in the first half, but they had two minutes left in the third quarter to take a 72-70 lead at Horton-Tucker's 3-pointer.
Tip-ins
The Clippers: City Rivals' season series finale came to an end with a "home" game on Wednesday night. ... seven players in the nine-man rotation scored in double digits.
Lakers: Reeves scored six points early in his career. The unfinished rookie out of Oklahoma also catalysed the Lakers' biggest surge when he dramatically blocked Jackson's shot in the third quarter. ...they missed their first 10 3-point attempts, all in the first quarter.
He loves la
James's all-star weekend heroism was overshadowed by various comments perceived as suggestions of dissatisfaction with the Lakers' front office. Both James and his agent, Rich Paul, attempted to curb those narratives on Friday, with James reaffirming his commitment to the Lakers and their championship aspirations both this season and beyond.
"I don't understand how some of my comments over the weekend were taken to a different area," James said later, "I see myself in purple and gold for as long as I can play."
Next
Clippers: Sunday night in Houston.
Lakers: Host New Orleans on Sunday night.