Reaves and Kessler swing Los Angeles derby as Lakers beat Clippers 125-117

The Los Angeles Lakers beat the LA Clippers 125-117 at Crypto.com Arena on Friday, October 23. The city rivals were tied at 64 at halftime, and the game turned chiefly in the third quarter: the Lakers scored 39 points, held the Clippers to 26 and built a lead that survived a late comeback attempt. Austin Reaves finished with 28 points and nine assists; Walker Kessler supplied 22 points, eight rebounds and six blocks.

The final margin was eight points, but the game did not unfold in a straight line. The Clippers took the first quarter 31-27. The Lakers answered 37-33 in the second, and Luka Dončić completed a three-point play with five seconds left before halftime to make it 64-64. Neither side had established a lasting gap by then. The NBA recorded 12 lead changes and five ties across the game.

Reaves breaks open the third quarter

Darius Garland began the second half with a basket that put the Clippers ahead 66-64. The Lakers then found a consistent route to the rim. Matisse Thybulle tied the score with a layup after a steal, Reaves drove to cut another Clippers lead, and Kessler finished a Reaves pass with a dunk for a 77-72 Lakers lead with 8:09 left in the period. The Clippers called timeout but continued to turn the ball over on possessions that demanded better execution.

The decisive stretch followed a Derrick Jones Jr. three-pointer that brought the Clippers within 77-76. Thybulle answered from outside, and Reaves strung together two layups, a midrange jumper and a transition three. That last shot made it 89-76 with 4:19 left in the third. It was more than one player's scoring burst: steals by Thybulle, Kessler and Reaves himself denied the Clippers several chances to attack and gave the Lakers possessions before the visiting defense could get set.

The home side ended the quarter ahead 103-90. Reaves made 10 of 13 field goals, including three of five from beyond the arc. His 28 points led the team, and he added nine assists. Kessler went 10-for-14 from the floor, added three steals and protected the paint with six blocks even when the Clippers reached the basket. The Lakers finished with 58 points in the paint to their opponents' 48 and shot 58.2% from the field.

Clippers close the gap but cannot complete the comeback

The Clippers' reserves scored 46 points, compared with 25 from the Lakers' bench. Brook Lopez was the most efficient member of that second unit: 22 points in under 20 minutes, eight makes in nine shots and three blocks. Garland led the visitors with 26 points and six assists. Rui Hachimura and Jones contributed 16 apiece. That spread of scoring kept the game alive despite the damage done in the third quarter.

The Clippers narrowed the deficit in the fourth. Garland hit a three with 3:21 remaining to make it 119-113. On the next sequence, Kessler grabbed an offensive rebound and made two free throws for 121-113. Another Garland turnover and the shrinking clock left the visitors without the succession of stops and baskets they needed. Kris Dunn brought them within 123-117 with 53 seconds left; Quentin Grimes secured the 125-117 score at the line, and Dončić subsequently blocked a Garland drive.

Turnovers were central to the result. The Clippers committed 25 and the Lakers 21: both totals were high, but the home side scored 33 points off the visitors' mistakes, four more than the Clippers managed at the other end. Garland had nine turnovers; Dončić had 11. The Slovenian guard finished with 23 points, six rebounds and seven assists, but made only eight of 21 shots. His offense contributed to the victory, though 11 turnovers rule out portraying it as a controlled ball-handling display. Reaves and Kessler gave the Lakers their more dependable advantage.

There was a contrast in execution, too. The Clippers made 16 of 37 three-pointers, or 43.2%, just below the Lakers' 43.8% on 14-of-32 shooting. Outside accuracy alone cannot account for the final eight-point difference: the Lakers made five more field goals on four fewer attempts. Kessler and Reaves attacked higher-percentage areas, while the center's blocks cut short some Clippers trips into the lane. The visitors won the total rebounding count 45-43, but that slight edge did not translate into enough defense to halt the Lakers' third-quarter surge.

The Lakers move to 2-0 at the start of the regular season, while the Clippers fall to 1-1. It is far too small a sample for sweeping conclusions about the standings. This first meeting of the campaign did, however, reveal a concrete difference: once the exchange of baskets gave way to a run of possessions decided by defense and transition, the Lakers opened the gap that settled the derby.