It was the Lake Show's first game after the All-Star break and their first since that Electric win over the Utah Jazz. Tonight the Lakers entertained the LA Clippers. Los Angeles has lost to the Clippers twice this season. There were early signs that the game would slip again, and it eventually happened as the Lakers dropped the game 105–102.
Those early signs were due to the Lakers' poor shooting, which allowed the Clippers to widen the gap. But the Lakers did not remain calm for long.
The last game against the Jazz surprised Lakers fans when they saw Anthony Davis again after coming down hard on his left foot. It has been determined that Eddie will miss the next 11 games with a middle leg sprain. They will be reevaluated in four weeks.
As his teammates took the floor without big mates, coach Frank Vogel spiced things up with the original starting five - LeBron James (21 points, 11 ribs, 3 ests), Russell Westbrook (18 points), Dwight Howard (14 points). points, 16 rib), Trevor Ariza, and Austin Reeves.
The Clippers were without Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Norman Powell.
Dwight was brilliant at five and came alive with that Dwight-Howard energy from the opening whistle. He put up 9 boards in just 7 minutes. He was really influential in paint. He went right up with his rebound and couldn't get under the hoop. Dwight and LBJ took the lead in the second quarter with 14 points respectively.
Double-double in 10 minutes played 💪💪 pic.twitter.com/3jS1EfWHBq
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) February 26, 2022
Tonight was the AR15's first start with Purple and Gold and she was definitely a defensive spark, some might say, the spark that made a comeback? If Reeves was shy of anything tonight, he was straight in the face of the Clippers. And then in the third quarter, as the Lakers worked to overcome a 16-point deficit, the rookie placed a block on Reggie Jackson (17 PT, 6 AST) that might have been heard all the way to the South Bay. of Los Angeles. And with that block came the power of a collective team.
Not today ☝️☝️☝️ pic.twitter.com/LPfr5IZT8F
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) February 26, 2022
The deficit fell and fell until the Lakers closed the quarter with some aggressive LeBron drives, some Carmelo Anthony (18 pts, 5 ribs) threes, and an exclamation mark from Talen Horton Tucker to ignite the team. last frame.
Now that's how you end a quarter 🔥 pic.twitter.com/MYFUTuYU7T
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) February 26, 2022
The fourth quarter was as close as the last minute of the previous one. It was a striking match and each team jolted and jolted as the clock was ticking. But the special thing about the end of this game was how everyone showed up. Talen came alive with mesmerizing handles, Russ had desire, Reeves had vision, and Monk had apes.
The Arkansas Oop pic.twitter.com/rYKbAHB1pO
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) February 26, 2022
After a lengthy out-of-bounds review/challenge, the ball was awarded to the Clippers with 25 seconds remaining in the game, with the Clippers up to 1. Frank Vogel said that postgame he was "very disappointed" with the decision. , But the Lakers then breached eight seconds to get the ball back. 18 seconds left, it was the ball of the taker. His last shot, and his chance to win - it didn't land.
The team is back to host the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday and take their respective glimpses of greatness and turn it into a team victory.