After blowing out the Golden State Warriors on Christmas for one of their best wins of the season, the Los Angeles Lakers have gone on to suffer consecutive frustrating losses. One came at the buzzer, while Friday saw the Clippers put together a 22-0 run to take control.
“They were just more aggressive than us. We got into foul trouble, had some guys out, and they went on a big run,” Lonzo Ball said after the Lakers’ 118-107 defeat. “Teams are going to go on runs, it happens. But a 22-0 run should never happen.”
The Clippers closed the third quarter on a 9-0 run, then scored 13 unanswered points in the fourth to break the game open. The Lakers attempted to make a late run but never truly threatened.
Head coach Luke Walton felt his team struggled to respond to the Clippers’ level of aggression and because of it began to ‘splinter.’ It’s a sentiment Ball didn’t necessarily refute.
“I mean, guys were getting frustrated,” he conceded. “Anytime a team is on a 22-0 run, it’s not going to be all fine and dandy. We gotta regroup. We can’t argue with each other.”
Compounding matters for the Lakers was they were without LeBron James (strained groin) and Rajon Rondo (finger surgery) in a second straight game.
“LeBron and Rondo, obviously are both our leaders. They were trying to talk to us as best they could but it’s not the same as being out there,” Ball said. “Just gotta step up and accept the roles we’re in right now. Just play together. We’ve got to stay together no matter if it’s going good or bad.”
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