Lakers Lose to Clippers, Despite Historic Records from James and Westbrook

The Clippers won the fight for L.A. against the Lakers Tuesday night with a final score of 133-115. This is the Lakers 10th consecutive loss against the Clippers. The Lakers are now 22-26 while the Clippers are 26-24.

Although the Lakers could not cross the finish line on top, Lebron James finished the game with 46 points. James has now scored at least 40 points against every team in the NBA. Despite the miscommunication between the team throughout the game, this is another wall he has successfully demolished in his path.

The Lakers could never grasp a lead during the game, with Clipper's stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George on their A-game. Leonard earned 25 points, nine rebounds and three assists while his teammate George obtained 27 points, nine rebounds and four assists.

In the first quarter, the Lakers were close behind with a score of 17-21 where there was potential to close the gap. However, as the game moved forward the gap grew, leaving the Lakers behind.

Struggling to fight against the Clippers, the Lakers could not beat them in a 3-point showdown. Especially when the Clippers were shooting 50% from downtown.

In the post-game press conference, James said his opponents were “exceptionally good” when they shot 3-pointers. “They made 19 threes...they got a lot of contributions from not only their stars, but Reggie and Norman came in and gave them a big boost as well.”

When asked what the commonalities are for losing 10 straight games in a row since Tyronn Lue became the head coach of the Clippers, James said “I don’t know. They have been better than us.”

James’ statement highlights the fact that the Clippers were simply the better team Tuesday night. Although he obtained a 40-point victory to break a historic record, the team was not able to walk away victorious.

Russell Westbrook did not have his best night; however, he broke his career point record of 24,000. He is the 28th player in NBA history to surpass this milestone.

Westbrook finished the game Tuesday night with 17 points, one rebound and five assists. The point guard showed impressive dribbling skills to try to fake out Clipper's opponents as well as had a successful jump shot while turned 180 degrees away from the basket. For a player who may be known as “Westbrick” while making jump shots, he illuminated his skills on the court Tuesday.

When asked during the press conference whether he improvises these skills or anticipates them, Westbrook replied, “I just try to go out and do it the best way I can...try to find ways to make the right shots and make the right play.”

Also, during the post-game interview, Coach Darvin Ham was asked how much the loss has to do with a lead you can’t climb out of. Coach Ham said, “We were forcing them into really, really tough shots and they were just making them...you gotta play damn near perfect to overcome that deficit...The Clippers are a hell of a ball club, but we have business to do tomorrow.”