The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Los Angeles Clippers 103-85 on Wednesday night without superstar guard Luka Doncic, who sat out with back tightness, and wing Ziaire Williams, who was out with left foot soreness.
The win came on the second night of a back-to-back, a night after the Lakers lost at home to the Trail Blazers for their first defeat of the season. Head coach JJ Redick had already warned this kind of night was coming, one where players outside the usual rotation would need to carry the load.
With Doncic out, attention shifted to Austin Reaves, who has had a career-best start to the season. The Clippers built their defensive game plan around stopping him.
Clippers coach Ty Lue said of Reaves before the game: “He can beat you by himself. … He’s elite.”
The strategy worked, at least on paper. Reaves finished with 16 points on 6-of-16 shooting and eight turnovers, snapping a stretch of four straight games with at least 23 points while shooting 54% or better from the field.
But the Lakers didn’t need Reaves to carry them. Collin Sexton scored 21 points, including nine straight in the third quarter that stretched a 13-point lead to 20. Quentin Grimes, making his first start of the season, had a season-high 23 points, five assists and four steals. Matisse Thybulle shot 5-of-6 from the field, including 4-of-6 from three-point range, for 15 points.
Veteran forward Jarred Vanderbilt also made his season debut because of the team’s injuries, posting a plus-22 in 21 minutes on the floor.
The Clippers were also shorthanded, playing without Rui Hachimura, Brandon Ingram and Bradley Beal, a pattern that has followed them for much of the season.
