LeBron James, Anthony Davis Sit as Talen Horton-Tucker, Lakers Beat Clippers

Kyusung Gong/Associated Press

The Los Angeles Lakers earned their second victory over the Los Angeles Clippers in three nights, winning 131-106 on Sunday night at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Paul George and Kawhi Leonard played 28 combined minutes Friday night as head coach Tyronn Lue emptied out the bench and got 18 different players on the floor. Neither George nor Leonard shouldered a heavy workload in the rematch with the Lakers as they logged 18 minutes apiece.

LeBron James and Anthony Davis were out altogether when the Lakers and Clippers met two nights ago. They still haven’t made their preseason debut as head coach Frank Vogel once again played it pretty safe with his more experienced stars.

Notable Performers

Talen Horton-Tucker, SG, Lakers: 33 points (11-17 FG; 4-5 3PT), 10 rebounds, four assists, four steals

Kyle Kuzma, PF, Lakers: 25 points (8-14 FG; 4-7 3PT), six rebounds, four assists, one block

Montrezl Harrell, PF, Lakers: 19 points (8-19 FG; 1-1 3PT), 11 rebounds, three assists, two blocks

Kawhi Leonard, SF, Clippers: 11 points (4-7 FG; 1-2 3PT), two assists, one rebound, one steal

Paul George, SG, Clippers: nine points (3-6 FG; 2-3 3PT), four assists, one rebound, one steal

Horton-Tucker Playing His Way into Rotation

The Lakers turned over the roster quite a bit for a reigning champion, so building continuity on the court is important. The preseason and early stages of the regular season are also an opportunity for Vogel to experiment and see if any unexpected players rise to the fore.

Talen Horton-Tucker is a prime candidate in that regard.

The 20-year-old drew praise from James after a 19-point outing on Friday. He was even better in Sunday’s second go-round:

This might only be the preseason, but Horton-Tucker clearly had a point to prove against the Clippers. At the very least, he’s giving Vogel a compelling reason to see how much of this translates when the real games begin.

Let the hype train begin. Horton-Tucker is on his way to becoming the second-best Lakers player ever with a hyphenated surname.

Clippers Shift Priorities in 2nd Half

At halftime, the Lakers led by seven points in what had been a back-and-forth game. Once the third quarter wrapped up, their lead had swelled to 17 points in large part because Lue started waving the white flag.

The Clippers’ starters provided some highlights in the first half when they played:

Taking a more critical view, one could contend that it’s not entirely encouraging to see the Lakers—sans Davis, James, Dennis Schroder, Wesley Matthews and Alex Caruso—dropping in 70 points in the first half on the Clippers.

Lue’s squad didn’t use its obvious talent advantage to burn the Lakers on the offensive end, either.

Nobody will be panicking after the second preseason game. However, last season showed chemistry issues and a lack of fluidity can’t simply be swept under the rug when the playoffs arrive. After the way 2019-20 ended, a slow start to the regular season might be the last thing the Clippers need.

Sunday’s game wasn’t a disaster, yet it yielded few positives for Lue in the same way Horton-Tucker’s performance gave Vogel cause for excitement.

What’s Next?

The Lakers have a pair of road games against the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday and Friday. The Clippers will bring their preseason to a close Thursday at home to the Utah Jazz.