Coming into Wednesday’s game, there was reason to believe the Los Angeles Lakers have been improving and playing better after having their last three games go down to the final seconds.
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Unfortunately for the Lakers, they were blown out by the Los Angeles Clippers losing by a score of 114-89. Lakers head coach Byron Scott described his team’s efforts with one simple word after the game, according to Lakers Nation reporter Serena Winters:
"We were soft." – Byron Scott
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) January 8, 2015
As the game entered the half, the Lakers found themselves down 70-48. Scott used the break to urge the Lakers to pick up their effort:
Byron Scott also said Lakers need to "man up."
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) January 8, 2015
Instead, the Lakers let the game get more out of control during the third quarter, allowing the Clippers to outscore them by 14 more points. When the game reached the fourth quarter, the Lakers trailed as much as 43 points before a late surge brought the final score to a closer deficit.
The Lakers entered the game shorthanded once again as starting point guard Ronnie Price missed the game as he recovered from a broken nose and experienced the flu. Also missing the game was Wesley Johnson and for the Clippers, they were with they were with their full, healthy roster.
Regardless of the circumstances, the Lakers still let the game get away from them. With the score clearly in the Clippers’ favor, Jordan Clarkson and Tarik Black received valuable playing and development time. Clarkson led all Lakers scorers with 14 while Black made his Laker debut in the fourth quarter and added five points of his own.
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