Los Angeles Lakers faced their second straight defeat in the NBA 2022-23 regular season as city rivals LA Clippers beat the Lakers 97-103 at the Crypto.com Arena on Thursday night. Russell Westbrook continued his offensive struggle against the Clippers as the guard made just two points and went 0-11 from the field.
The Lakers continued their lackluster performance as they have managed 39 per cent from the field and a dismal 22 per cent from 3-point range in their opening two losses.
For the fourth time in his career and since going 0 for 3 in January 2016 against the Dallas Mavericks, this is the first time when Russell Westbrook has failed to make a field goal including 0 for 6 from beyond the 3-point arc. Westbrook scored only two points, which came off the two free throws, in his 27 minutes of appearance on the court. However, the 33-year-old guard had a decent defensive performance, registering three rebounds and five steals against the Clippers.
When asked by the media about his performance, Westbrook said, "Solid, (I) played hard. This is all one can ask for."
Watch the video here:
Talking about the game, both Clippers and Lakers tied at 56-56 at the end of the first half while the visitors took an eight-point lead in the third quarter. The Lakers failed to cover the lead and lost the game by six points. For Lakers, Lonnie Walker (26), Anthony Davis (25) and LeBron James (20) combined for 71 points but didn't get much support from their teammates including Patrick Beverley and Russell Westbrook.
On the other hand, Kawhi Leonard started off the bench to score 14 points while veteran John Wall made 15 points in his debut for the Clippers. Apart from them, Paul George scored 15 points and 10 rebounds while Ivica Zubac made 14 points, 17 rebounds and five blocks.