Clippers were superior to the defending champions on the opening night
The Los Angeles Clippers were relentless offensively exploiting all the mismatches and utilizing their length and velocity in both sides of the floor and that’s how they preponderated 116–109 over the Lakers on Tuesday night.
They finished the first quarter with 20-point lead that was cut by the Lakers and even if Vogel’s group came close to get the lead in the third quarter, they couldn’t pull it off.
Paul George had a remarkable performance with 33 points, six rebounds and made five threes to lead Clippers to a tough victory over the NBA defending champions. Kawhi Leonard had 26 points and three assists, Serge Ibaka had a great debut with his new team scoring 15 points and grabbing six rebounds.
George made a statement when signed a $190m four-year extension with the team and his performance in the first game of the season was really promising.
Under the invigilation of their new coach Tyronn Lue, who was an assistant coach last season and now he is the successor of Doc Rivers who was sacked by the team late in September.
Lue was satisfied with the way his team confronted the Lakers but he clarified that his main focus is on the direction that he tries to lead them and that’s all he cares about.
“Our focus was on us,” Lue said. “The Lakers, they deserved that ring. They had a great year, and you can’t take nothing away from them. Our focus wasn’t really on the Lakers. They were the best team last year, so congratulations to them again, but now we’re moving on.”
“We’re not thinking about last year,” Leonard said. “It’s a different team. I’m just happy that we kept playing basketball the right way. Even if we lost the lead, we turned around and kept playing our basketball. We ran our offense, and that’s what we take pride in tonight. Everybody had each other’s back and was staying positive.”
LeBron James scored 22 points and Anthony Davis had 18 points in their return on the court and firstly celebrated their accomplishment to win the franchise’s 17th title and later took on a very hungry team that handed them their first defeat in the new season.
Dennis Schroder had 14 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists on his debut, while Montrezl Harrell had 17 points, 10 rebounds and three assists against his former team.
Lakers head coach Frank Vogel wasn’t anguised over the minutes that each player spent on the floor but he comprehends that he has to have a certain approach towards this matter.
“It’s not ideal, but I do feel it’s necessary to manage those guys’ minutes the right way,” Vogel said. “Getting through this stretch healthy is a priority, and evaluating how our new guys fit is a priority when we haven’t had a normal amount of time to do that. The five guys on the floor have got to be better than they were tonight.”
NEXT GAME
Clippers will visit Denver on Friday, while Lakers will host the Dallas Mavericks.