LeBron leads Lakers to overtime victory in season's first matchup ...

The Talk of Troy

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (6) dribbles against the Memphis Grizzlies during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Los Angeles, Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

By Dylan Luden

November 02, 2023 at 5:34 pm PDT

LOS ANGELES — In his 21st season, LeBron James looks better than ever.

After many concerns from fans regarding his reduced play time this season to keep him fresh, James played a season-high 42 minutes as he led the Los Angeles Lakers to a 130-125 overtime victory over their inner-city rivals, the Los Angeles Clippers.

The game wasn’t always smooth sailing for the Lakers as the Clippers game out firing early on. Could the recent trade acquisition of James Harden have boosted the Clippers’ spirits even without him playing? Who knows.

All that matters is that Kawhi Leonard looked fully healthy and ready to lead a Clippers team with championship aspirations. Leonard had 18 points in the first quarter, which is the most first-quarter points he’s had in his entire career.

The Lakers offense looked stagnant in the first half. There was too much ball-watching happening — everyone would stand out on the perimeter waiting for the ball handler to kick it to them instead of making themselves open.

On the defensive side, the Clippers were scoring at will in that first half. They were getting inside with ease and were hitting over half of their threes. The Lakers’ shooting in the first half wasn’t terrible, but wasn’t great, either. Austin Reaves had a rough going at first, but James was able to pick him up as well as the rest of the Lakers as they were down by 13 at the half.

Halloween was on Tuesday, but it seemed like some witch stuck around to cast a spell that made both teams switch identities at halftime. Instead of the Lakers’ offense looking sluggish and the defense being non-existent, the Clippers were actually the ones that looked that way to begin the second half.

The Lakers continued to get high-percentage looks thanks to their outstanding defense. James didn’t play a ton in the third quarter, but their frontcourt took the reigns and provided a boost with James out. The combination of Anthony Davis, Christian Wood and Jaxson Hayes provided stout defense around the hoop with Davis tallying four blocks in the game.

D’Angelo Russell stepped up big for the Lakers on the offensive side of the ball as he and Davis had 27 points each. Reaves also stepped up his offensive play in the second half, but provided tremendous value on defense all game with three steals. Cam Reddish, who started in place of the injured Taurean Prince, also had three assists and looked solid on both ends.

In the fourth quarter, Paul George took over for the Clippers. With 14 seconds left, Reddish skims George’s elbow on a shot behind the 3-point line to cause a foul. Down by three, George made all three free throws to tie the game and send it to overtime after Russell couldn’t make the go-ahead shot with the clock winding down.

The Lakers continued playing great offense and defense in overtime, constantly attacking the boards. Wood especially honed in on that aspect and sealed the game with an emphatic put-back jam. He would finish the game with a double-double alongside Clippers’ Russell Westbrook.

Even though the performances of Leonard (38 points) and George proved that the Clippers will be a threat to win the Western Conference this season, the Lakers came out on top in this first matchup between the crosstown rivals.

After just playing the Orlando Magic last game at home in the Crypto.com Arena, the Lakers will look to ride their momentum as they travel to Florida to face the Magic on Saturday at 4 p.m. The Clippers will also travel cross country this weekend as they play the New York Knicks Monday at 4:30 p.m.