Lakers Beat Clippers 103-87 Without Doncic as Grimes Scores 23 in Inglewood

The Los Angeles Lakers beat the LA Clippers 103-87 at Intuit Dome in Inglewood on Wednesday night, winning the second meeting between the city rivals in a week despite playing without Luka Doncic. Doncic sat out with back tightness on the second night of the Lakers' first back-to-back of the season, and starting forward Ziaire Williams also missed the game with a sore left foot. Coach JJ Redick said both moves were precautionary, the Associated Press reported. It did not slow Los Angeles down. The Lakers (4-1) put six players in double figures, forced 24 Clippers turnovers and scored 31 points off those mistakes, one night after a home loss to Portland.

Quentin Grimes, starting with the regulars short-handed, scored 23 points on 7 of 15 shooting with three rebounds, five assists and four steals. Collin Sexton added a season high 21 points off the bench, and Austin Reaves scored 16 points with six rebounds on a rough shooting night that included eight turnovers. Matisse Thybulle scored 15 points on 5 of 6 shooting, Sandro Mamukelashvili had 13 points and eight rebounds, and Walker Kessler finished with 11 points and nine rebounds. Sexton and Thybulle made four three-pointers each.

The Lakers took the game over in the second quarter. After a low-scoring first quarter ended with Los Angeles ahead 25-22, the Lakers outscored the Clippers 31-16 in the second, ran off 16 straight points at one stretch and closed the half on a 27-7 run to lead 56-38 at the break. The defense did most of the work. Los Angeles recorded 15 steals and 17 offensive rebounds, and the Clippers never found a rhythm with the ball, a problem that has followed them all week. The Clippers (1-3) have lost three straight games, and they committed 26 turnovers in each of their previous two losses, to Oklahoma City and to the Lakers.

Rookie Keaton Wagler scored a career high 21 points off the bench to lead the Clippers, who played without starting forward Rui Hachimura because of left quad tightness. Hachimura sat out against his former team. The Clippers made one push after halftime, opening the third quarter with a 12-2 run that cut the lead to seven points. Sexton answered almost by himself. He scored 11 straight points late in the quarter, including back-to-back three-pointers, and the Lakers closed the period on a 27-15 spurt to lead by 19. The fourth quarter stayed out of reach, and Los Angeles finished off a 16-point win while committing 21 turnovers of its own.

The win gave the Lakers a second victory over the Clippers in six days. Los Angeles won the first meeting 125-117 on Friday, October 23, behind 28 points from Reaves, and Doncic scored 41 points against Portland on Tuesday, October 27, before the team held him out on Wednesday. Doncic leads the NBA at 36.0 points per game. Both teams open NBA Cup group play on Friday, October 30. The Lakers visit the Golden State Warriors, and the Clippers visit the Minnesota Timberwolves.