The Los Angeles Lakers propel themselves to No. 2 in the Western Conference rankings after beating the Clippers 108-102 Sunday night, their second victory against their city’s rival in three days.
Slovenian superstar Luka Doncic scored 29 points and recorded nine assists, while All-Star LeBron James added 17 points. Rookie Dalton Knecht scored 19 points and the Lakers won even though they played without key players Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura.
For the Clippers, guard Kawhi Leonard had a season-high 33 points, but that wasn’t enough for his team that has lost five of their six last games. The Los Angeles team has fallen to sixth on the Western Conference, just enough to secure a playoff spot without having to be part of the play-in tournament.
Luka’s disgusting gesture against the Clippers
Luka Doncic made a disgusting gesture during the game that took a female referee by surprise. Los Angeles Clippers guard James Harden was taking a free throw when the ball got to the Slovenian player. Doncic grabbed the basketball and rubbed sweat all over it before tossing it to the official.
The referee was clearly upset by Luka‘s gesture and she called a delay of game warning. Players were upset at the call, which sparked an interesting debate online, with social media users calling it as an emotional decision, while others defended the official.
“She ain’t emotional. That shit is just disrespectful and dirty as fuck. Somebody would whoop your a** doing that in a pick up game.” wrote an X user. “So everyone who is saying players do this to the ball all the time. Show me one clip where they did it to the degree that Luka did? Yes, players do certain things subtly. But not to this degree.” wrote another.
Something special is happening with the Lakers
Something special might be brewing. Luka Doncic looks more comfortable by the day, and the Los Angeles Lakers continue to get impressive results despite major injuries and a brutal schedule. They’ve jumped into second place in the Western Conference at 38-21.
Veteran leader LeBron James is now a point shy of becoming the first player in NBA history to score 50,000 combined points in the regular season and the playoffs, the latest of his very impressive accomplishments that put him on the greatest of all time conversations.
Both the Clippers and the Lakers return Tuesday night. The Clippers visit the Phoenix Suns – which are currenlty out of the playoffs picture, with an awful 28-33 record – , and the Lakers host the New Orleans Pelicans, one of the worst NBA teams currently.
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