On Wednesday night at Staples Center, the Los Angeles Lakers trailed by as many as 43 points before falling 114-89 to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Entering the game, Lakers coach Byron Scott stated multiple times that the Clippers and Lakers were not rivals, and the evidence over 48 minutes only further proved that point. The Lakers could not compete with the Clippers, as the purple and gold suffered their ninth loss in the last 10 meetings between the two LA teams.
“They’re just better,” Kobe Bryant said after the loss. “[They] just got better players that come at you in waves. [They are] just deeper. They have got a lot better shooters on the floor, and we’re shorthanded. We miss Ronnie (Price). We miss Wes (Johnson). We miss that length. We miss that speed.”
Since returning from three games on the sidelines, Bryant was averaging 12.3 shots, 8.5 rebounds and 8.0 assists. On Wednesday, Bryant took 12 shots, pulled down eight rebounds and handed off seven assists. However, he just didn’t look right, and finishing with six turnovers and only four points provided evidence of that fact.
“It’s just a little rust,” Scott said. “I’m not worried about Kobe.”
The Clippers scored 70 points in the first half and finished with 114 for the game. Chris Paul led the way with 24 points and 11 assists, but all five Clippers’ starters scored in double figures. The Lakers trailed by 22 points at the half, and the Lakers’ coach was not happy with what he had seen.
“We were soft,” Scott said after the game. “I don’t consider [the Clippers] a physical basketball team, but they came out punched us, and we were soft.”
Scott said that missing Price hurt because he is one of the toughest guys on the team. Price missed the fourth quarter against Portland on Monday after breaking his nose and receiving 11 stitches. Along with the stitches, Price also had the flu, so he was unable to play.
The Lakers’ coach was fuming from his ears, and his disappointment and frustration manifested itself in the form of short answers and repeated use of the word “soft.” In all, the coach repeated the word “soft” five times when describing his team after the game.
What was Scott’s message to his team? “I told them to man up, basically.”
Notes: Tarik Black made his Lakers’ debut and finished with five points–1 point more than Bryant. Johnson missed his second straight game with a strained right hip flexor. Rookie Jordan Clarkson set a new career-high with 14 points on 6-10 shooting and also tied career-highs with two assists and four rebounds.