Heading into Wednesday night, the Los Angeles Lakers were shorthanded going against the L.A. Clippers, who had won 11 straight head-to-head matchups going back to 2020. In order to snap the streak, the Purple and Gold needed all hands on deck to lead them to a victory.
Kawhi Leonard and Paul George came out of the gates firing after a subpar night on Tuesday against the Orlando Magic. Leonard would score 18 points in the first quarter, 38 in total, and George chipped in with 35. Falling down 19 points, the Lakers kept chipping away and ultimately took an eight-point lead before winning in overtime.
Head coach Darvin Ham would rely on Christian Wood once again to close out a game, playing 29 minutes and putting up 10 points and 11 rebounds. Wood would seal the game with a putback dunk to put the Lakers up five, and he talked about what led to that play.
“It’s funny that you say that. DLo was telling me the possession before that if it comes to you, shoot it, and if it doesn’t, just go rebound, just crash as hard as you can. You got 10 rebounds, you’re gonna need one more. That really factored in my head when I went to go get the rebound and I saw nobody box me out so I went for the dunk.”
The Lakers have not beaten the Clippers since Jul 30, 2020, when the NBA restarted down in Orlando in the bubble. For the team to pull out this kind of win shorthanded can do a lot for morale and Wood talked about the importance of this victory.
“It’s a big win, especially against a good team that just added an All-Star player and a nice defender in PJ Tucker. But it was hard fought, we fought until the end. We had some lapses where we messed up but everybody stayed together defensively and offensively and we came together and got the win.”
Now playing for his eighth team, there were some mixed reactions on if Wood would make it work with the Lakers. However, he’s been a plus in every game he’s played thus far and spoke to the comfort level he has with the team five games in.
“Really comfortable. These guys trust me defensively and offensively to make certain shots, to defend certain guys and I think I’ve been doing that.”
While there was a questionable call on Cam Reddish fouling George on a 3 that would send the game to overtime, this was a much-needed win for the Lakers. With a four-game road trip looming, this is a great bode of confidence for the team.
Wood alongside Anthony Davis has been a tremendous pairing as the team has struggled on the glass so far. Ham even went as far as using a three-big lineup in Wood, Davis and Jaxson Hayes, which turned the tide of the game and helped the Lakers make a run.
Wood figuring out how to best support Davis defensively
As a big who does not have the reputation of being a good defender, Wood is determined to change the narrative and was seen guarding Leonard and George at times. However, Wood is still trying to figure out how he can help Davis defensively when the two are on the floor together, and he believes focusing on the glass is the way to do that.
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