With a 48-point win on Thursday, the Los Angeles Clippers handed the Los Angeles Lakers their worst loss in franchise history. The Lakers trailed by two points at the end of the first quarter, but the game quickly got away from them as the Clippers rattled off 44 points in the second quarter to just 13 for the Lakers. As has been the case throughout the season, the Lakers started the second half flat, which allowed the Clippers to push their lead into the 40s.
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As the Clippers increased their defensive pressure, so did the number of Lakers turnovers. While addressing the media after the game, Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni expressed his belief that the Clippers knew the Lakers were reeling, according to Lakers Nation reporter Serena Winters:
D’Antoni continued: “ They smelled blood in the water and they killed us.”
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) March 7, 2014
While the Lakers’ bench was only outscored by 11 points, D’Antoni believes the game was largely lost to the Clippers bench in the second quarter:
D’Antoni: “We took a body blow & it look like it just took us to our knees. The air went out big time."
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) March 7, 2014
Though the point differential between the two benches isn’t as large as one would believe, the majority of Lakers bench points came after the Clippers had the game in hand. Thursday’s loss is the second time in as many meetings that the Clippers defeated the Lakers by at least 35 points. The two teams will meet for a fourth and final time on April 6.
There will be no rest for the weary as next up for the Lakers is a road game against the Denver Nuggets, which has routinely been a difficult setting for them.
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