He turned the ball over 11 times and missed 13 of his 21 shots Friday night, leading Luka Doncic to criticize his play, saying, “My game was terrible.”
Yet, even with Doncic being sloppy with the basketball, with his shot failing him, with the Lakers turning the ball over at an alarming rate, they still defeated the crosstown rival Clippers, 125-117, behind the play of Austin Reaves and another stellar performance from center Walker Kessler at Crypto.com Arena.
As a team, the Lakers turned the ball over 21 times, nine in the fourth quarter when a 15-point lead was sliced to six points. Doncic’s 11 miscues were over half of the Lakers’ turnovers. His four in the fourth quarter didn’t help matters.
“I think we have a lot of improvement,” said Doncic, who had 23 points, seven assists and six rebounds. “I like that you said both me and AR, and didn’t just say me. … On all seriousness, I think we have a lot of room left to improve. Obviously my game was terrible, but we are 2-0. Not playing a great game by me and AR. We have a lot of room left, so it’s very exciting news, honestly.”
Reaves led the Lakers in scoring with 28 points and nine assists. But he had six turnovers. It meant that the Lakers’ guards combined for 17 turnovers.
“[We need to] stop giving them the ball,” Reaves said about what the Lakers need to clean up. “It’s pretty simple. … I think a lot of mine tonight were not smart. So, that’s on me.”
On the other end of the spectrum was Kessler, who played with force and purpose on both ends.
He had 22 points on 10-for-14 shooting, eight rebounds, six blocks and a career-high-tying three steals.
He became the fifth player in Lakers history to record at least 20 points, three steals and six blocks in a game, making Kessler the first to accomplish that feat since Anthony Davis in December 2024.
Kessler has made 22 of his first 24 shots in two games as a Laker, his shooting percentage at an astounding 84.6%.
He played only five games last season with the Jazz because of a torn labrum in his left shoulder.
But now that he’s back playing, his love for the game is higher than ever.
Clippers forward Rui Hachimura, playing tight defense on Lakers guard Luka Doncic, returned to Crypto.com Arena where he played for parts of three seasons. He had 16 points, six rebounds and two steals.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
“Oh, it’s so much fun. It’s so much fun,” Kessler said. “It was definitely a tougher year for me. But God is faithful, and just to be here now, I’m just so thankful. So thankful for this opportunity, so thankful to be healthy. Just very, very thankful.”
When Doncic turned the ball over late in the fourth quarter and Darius Garland, who finished with 26 points, scored, the Lakers’ once big lead of 112-97 in the fourth quarter was down to 119-113 with three minutes and 21 seconds left.
But Kessler played big in the final few minutes. He made two free throws on the next Lakers’ possession.
Then after Reaves scored, Kessler blocked a shot, and for all intents and purposes, the victory was secured for the Lakers.
They improved to 2-0 on the season and had forced the Clippers into 26 turnovers.
They also made sure former Lakers teammate Rui Hachimura (16 points) didn’t walk out of the arena with a victory.
They also got back Collin Sexton. He missed the Lakers’ first regular-season game and all five preseason games because of a right leg soleus strain. Sexton played 16 minutes and had five points and three steals.
Etc.
Jake LaRavia didn’t play because of a sprained right ankle. LaRavia played in all 82 games last season for the first time in his career. His goal was to play in all 82 this season, but he’s already missed his first game and might not be available to play until Sunday at Utah or Tuesday at home against the Portland Trail Blazers.
“We talked last week and mentioned that was one of his goals for the season. He had the same goal last year and he was able to do that,” Redick said. “Play through some stuff at times last year. Wanted to play. We talked to him this morning before shootaround and I was going to try to give it a go and went to the treatment room and just, it’s not there, but he’s hopeful he could be back Sunday, if not Tuesday.”