Lakers could not stop Paul George in the second half, as the Clippers gets the win on opening night

Los Angeles- The Lakers had trouble containing PG 13, as he scored 33 points in a 116-109 loss to the Clippers.

After returning with another championship for their franchise. the Lakers wanted to send a message to the Clippers on opening night, but that was not the case.

Los Angeles started the first half slow and out of sync. They were shooting around 36% from the field and turned the ball over ten times, which lead to six fastbreak points for the Clippers.

Despite Anthony Davis and Lebron James struggling to find their rhythm, the Lakers' bench went on a 10-0 run with under six minutes left in the second quarter to cut the Clippers' lead to eleven. However, the Lakers had trouble stopping Kawhi Leonard. Leonard was getting to his spots on the floor, getting his teammates involved, and had a couple of steals in the quarter. He finished the half with 13 points.

The Lakers' offense came to life late in the quarter, as they went on a 14-6 run to cut the Clippers' once 22-point lead to two at the half, 56-54.

In the third quarter, the Lakers started to get their legs behind them and started hitting shots. Their percentage from the field shot up to 47% as they were connecting on their shots. Dennis Schroder was a key factor with keeping the Lakers in striking distance. He hit five shots in the quarter and had the Clippers on their heels.

In the fourth quarter, the Lakers had trouble containing Paul George, as he got R rated on them. Instead of taking long jumpers, George was settling in with his shots and making the Lakers pay when they put a smaller defender on him. He finished the game with 33 points.

With under three minutes left in regulation, the Lakers could not stop the Clippers from scoring and eventually walked away with their first loss of the season.

Key Players

James finished with 22 points, 5 assists, and 5 rebounds.

Anthony Davis finished with 18 points, 2 assists, and 7 rebounds.

Schroder finished with 14 points, 12 rebounds, and 8 assists.