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Clippers Run Away With Game One Win Over Lakers

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Los Angeles basketball fans rejoiced Thursday as the city’s two teams squared off at Staples Center. The young and building Lakers looked to take on a new-look Clippers squad and the feeling before the matchup was that this one could go either way.

That feeling faded quickly. And it all started with Patrick Beverly.

Lakers fans have long awaited the debut of rookie guard Lonzo Ball but Beverly arguably had been waiting for his debut even more. Beverly told anybody that would listen in the preseason that he would lockup Ball in their first meeting. Beverly didn’t disappoint. The first team all defensive player from last season held Ball to just 3 points and he proceeded to let the whole arena know.

While Beverly was keyed in on defense, Blake Griffin was zeroing in on offense. Without Chris Paul, Griffin’s role on the offensive end increased and it was easy to tell early on he was going to have the ball in his hands a lot when on the floor. He was bringing it up the floor, posting up down low and even knocking down the three ball with consistency. Griffin finished the night with 29 points and 12 rebounds, going an impressive 3-6 from beyond the arc.

Griffin finished up with a double-double but he wasn’t the only Clippers player to rack up the stats. DeAndre Jordan cleaned the glass all night long, and there was rarely a ball that bounced off the tin he didn’t grab a hold of. Jordan would end up with 24 rebounds and 14 points, most of which came off putbacks on the offensive glass.

As the Clippers shined the Lakers struggled. As previously mentioned, the rookie sensation Ball didn’t put up many points, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t have an impact. Ball crashed the glass and wound up with 9 rebounds, an impressive number for a guard. Meanwhile, that vision we’ve all heard so much about was evident in his 4 assists. But fans definitely want to see more from him moving forward.

One Laker that showed up to play Thursday was Larry Nance Jr. Nance had an impressive first half and showed that always impressive athleticism on a number of occasions. The only Laker with a double-double, Nance had 14 points and 12 rebounds on the night.

A convincing 108-92 win for the Clippers in the first battle for Los Angeles this season. The ball movement and chemistry the Clippers players showed is promising for Clippers fans and they certainly hope the team can keep that up. Lakers fans, on the other hand, know there’s still some work to be done with this young group. But it’s easy to tell the pieces are there for them to shine, just not yet.

The Clippers will stay in Los Angeles to take on the Phoenix Suns on Saturday for their next matchup.

Meanwhile, the Lakers will head to Phoenix to take on the same Suns team Friday night.

Thanks for reading along Los Angeles basketball fans, this should be a fun season.

Stay with us at Calisportsnews.com as we will keep you up-to-date on all things Los Angeles Clippers and the rest of the LA sports teams! All Cali, All the time

 

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