The Los Angeles Lakers played one of the worst halves they’ll play all season in the first half of Sunday night’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans, as they gave up 68 points and trailed by as much as 22.
Guard Jordan Clarkson sparked a comeback last in the third quarter though, as the Lakers came all the way back from down 20 late in the third to take the lead early in the fourth quarter.
The comeback ended up being all-for-not though, as the Lakers ultimately lost 119-112, falling to 1-2 on the season. After the game, Clarkson commented on what changed for the Lakers in the second half that sparked the comeback, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“Just the energy we bring on both ends. Defensively we were playing for each other. We were switching a lot of the coverages so we had to talk, it kind of forced us to play that way. I think we did a good job and that’s what sparked the comeback.”
While Clarkson was pleased with their play in the second half, he thinks they need to get better down the stretch to win games:
“There ain’t no moral victories here, we’re trying to win games. We made a comeback, we’re making strides I feel like in the right direction, but we just got to start putting those together and getting those wins.”
Clarkson put together his best game of the season Sunday night, scoring 24 points to go along with five assists on 10-of-18 shooting in 26 minutes off the bench. He has gotten off to a good start to the season, averaging 19.7 points and shooting 51.1 percent from the field through two games.
While Clarkson is right that winning should be the main focus, all of the team’s young players seem to be developing and headed in the right direction, which ultimately is the most important thing with this team.