Top Takeaways from LeBron James, Lakers' Loss vs. Clippers

The two teams from Los Angeles are heading in opposite directions as the 2021-22 NBA season nears its end.

The Los Angeles Clippers dominated the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night for a 132-111 win at Crypto.com Arena. It was the fifth-straight win for the Clippers (34-31), while the Lakers (27-35) have now lost four in a row.

Though the teams are back-to-back in the standings, the Clippers are now within reach of the No. 6 seed, which could avoid the play-in tournament, while the Lakers could be heading home early.

The Purple and Gold only have a two-game lead over the Portland Trail Blazers, which are currently sitting in 11th place in the Western Conference. If the team continues to struggle, it won't even make the play-in tournament.

Thursday's matchup told much of the story for both teams.

The Lakers kept things close early, trailing just 66-63 at halftime. Things quickly turned around in the third quarter as the Clippers scored 40 points and pulled away for an eventual 21-point win. The Clippers never trailed in the second half and led by as many as 30 points.

Reggie Jackson was the surprise star with a season-high 36 points to go with nine assists and eight rebounds. LeBron James led the Lakers with 26, but he was minus-27 on the court in the loss.

It doesn't get any easier for the Lakers, which will host the Golden State Warriors on Saturday. The Clippers will stay home to face the New York Knicks on Sunday.

The Lakers like to use a fast pace—which is one reason they have given up over 100 points in 10 straight games—but the abysmal performance Thursday showed the defense leaves a lot to be desired. 

The Clippers shot 17-of-27 from three-point range (63 percent) while also hitting 54.8 percent of shots overall. 

"Got no stops, it's as simple as that," Russell Westbrook said after the game. 

It's also not as if the opponent was loaded with superstars. With Paul George and Norman Powell out with injuries, no one in the Clippers active lineup Thursday averages more than 20 points per game. They still found a way to light up the scoreboard with little resistance.

As LeBron said after the game, it has been an issue all year long. 

"With a Frank Vogel team, it obviously starts with defending," he told reporters (1:00). "It's been challenging for us this year defensively."

The Lakers rank 16th in defensive efficiency this season, which is a steep drop from last year when they led the NBA in that category. Losing Anthony Davis—a four-time All-Defensive team player—for long stretches obviously hurts, but the effort also hasn't been there in 2021-22.

Even with the inconsistency in the roster, there is enough offensive talent to carry the Purple and Gold if the defense was elite. Instead, the team is simply unable to keep up with opponents on the scoreboard.

It will cost the Lakers a chance to contend this season, but it should be a primary focus in the offseason.

With Kawhi Leonard recovering from a torn ACL, few picked the Clippers to go far this season. With Paul George out since December with an elbow injury, the team easily could have moved into rebuild mode.

Instead, the squad continues to have new players emerge to keep it in playoff contention.

Norman Powell only provided three games worth of help before suffering a toe injury, but Reggie Jackson has now taken over as a go-to option offensively.

The 31-year-old scored 36 against the Lakers and finished plus-44 on the floor, helping the Clippers dominate an opponent that has a lot more star power. Jackson is averaging 21.6 points and 8.2 assists during the team's five-game winning streak, shooting 44.4 percent from three-point range.

The Clippers also got a lot of production from centers Ivica Zubac and Isaiah Hartenstein, who combined for 31 points, 14 rebounds, eight assists and three blocks across the full 48 minutes.

Role players Robert Covington, Luke Kennard, Marcus Morris and Nicolas Batum have all shown the ability to either step up offensively when needed or fade into the background while doing their job on both ends. It's been enough for the Clippers to stay in playoff contention even without the top players on the roster.

It will make the team even stronger when the stars return, either this year or next. If George and/or Leonard come back for this postseason, the Clippers can match up with anyone in the NBA. 

Even in the midst of the Lakers' slide, LeBron James insisted that he won't shut down for the season.

"Until you stomp me out, cut my head off, bury me 12 feet under, then I got a chance," he said Tuesday.

James wasn't able to stop the bleeding on Thursday, but he is still going down with a fight. The 37-year-old played a game-high 37 minutes and didn't check out until under four minutes remaining with the Lakers trailing 127-98.

The superstar is still dealing with a knee injury that kept him out five games in January and February, but he has played in at least 34 minutes in each of the nine games since returning. He is averaging 27.8 points per game in this stretch, shooting 50.5 percent from the field.

Of course, the Lakers have lost seven of those nine games and are fading further down the standings. 

Considering the long odds of making a deep run in the playoffs, few would blame James if he were shut down for the rest of the season. It would allow him to go into 2022-23 with a fresh start alongside Anthony Davis and likely a rebuilt roster.

It doesn't seem likely, however, as LeBron is going to keep fighting each night. 

"They're not out of it," Clippers coach Ty Lue said after the game. "They're a really good team—they just gotta figure out how they want to play, and their health situation. That's what's been hurting them all season."

The talent on the roster is enough to make them a scary team come playoff time, but the Lakers have to get there first.