The Los Angeles Lakers were unable to close their road trip out on a high note, losing to the L.A. Clippers and falling back down toward the No. 7 seed.
It was a rough go for the Lakers, who clearly looked tired from their win over the Utah Jazz the night prior. The team came out flat on both ends of the floor while the Clippers looked energized after several days off.
Anthony Davis had a subpar game by his standards as he was feeling the effects of the long road trip and he reflected on the Lakers’ slow start, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“I think they came out…they did come out very hot shooting the ball. Slow start for us, obviously they’ve been out for a couple of days. We went into overtime last night, not using that as an excuse but I think that’s what led to our slow start. They came out with a lot of energy. Games where it’s a back-to-back, you can’t really start slow. That’s what we did, missing shots, giving them open looks. They would cut it back, now you have to exert all the energy you have to cut the lead down instead of pushing the lead up. That was the game.”
The purple and gold did manage to make things interesting in the third quarter as they battled back from a large deficit, something Davis praised his team for:
“Just keep fighting. Resiliency. You get down…we were down like 20 or 19 and just fighting back. Continue to take it one play at a time, next play mentality. It was a little…funky trip, flying all over the place, getting stuck, and weather and everything like that. But we were able to come out –even though it was the last game of the road trip technically– we just battled. That’s all you can do. Like I said, they came out shooting the ball very well, we started off slow and dug ourselves a hole missing shots and turnovers. It’s always tough to win a game like that, but I do agree with the way we competed tonight.”
The loss was disappointing as the Lakers could’ve almost certainly avoided the Play-In Tournament, but now must win their final two games for a chance at the No. 6 seed. The good news is, though, that Davis believes he’ll be fine physically after playing the back-to-back so hopefully he’s able to suit up the rest of the way.
D’Angelo Russell will have to manage foot soreness for rest of season
There’s no time to rest for L.A. as they try to make a final push before the regular season ends, but unfortunately the two stars aren’t the only ones dealing with nagging injuries. D’Angelo Russell has been bothered by foot soreness and he admitted it’s an issue that he’s going to have to manage the rest of the season.
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