Lakers Bench Powers Blowout Victory Over Clippers

Coming off their first loss of the season, the Los Angeles Lakers looked to get back on track on Wednesday night in the second of a back-to-back when they took on the L.A. Clippers at Intuit Dome.

And that is exactly what they did as they cruised to a victory to improve to 4-1 on the young season.

Lakers 103, Clippers 87: key takeaways

Key injuries for both teams

With it being the second of a back-to-back, the Lakers were without two starters in Luka Doncic (back tightness) and Ziaire Williams (left foot soreness), although both injuries are considered to be minor. Cameron Carr (right oblique strain) and Adou Thiero (left knee injury management) also remain out.

On the Clippers side of things, they were without Rui Hachimura, Brandon Ingram, Max Strus, Bradley Beal, Jordan Miller and Yanic Konan Niederhauser.

Slow start offensively

Matisse Thybulle had the first six points offensively, but it otherwise was a slow start. Austin Reaves wasn’t shooting it well despite having seven points of his own in the first quarter.

The Clippers opened up a 19-14 lead, although the Lakers ended the first with a nice spurt to regain the lead. Quentin Grimes had back-to-back steals and breakaway dunks to end the frame.

Lakers take control

The second quarter was much better for the Lakers as they remained locked in defensively while catching fire from deep. Thybulle continued his strong half, while Collin Sexton hit a pair of triples as well.

The Lakers went on a 16-0 run at one point and took a 56-38 lead into the halftime locker room.

Major contributions from Collin Sexton, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Jarred Vanderbilt

The Clippers opened the third quarter on an 11-2 run, but it was all Lakers from there.

Despite being shorthanded, the Lakers got some big contributions from their players off the bench. Sexton stayed hot with a quick nine-point spurt, while Sandro Mamukelashvili was doing a little bit of everything, turning defense into offense.

Jarred Vanderbilt didn’t play in the Lakers’ first four games but got an opportunity in this one and made the most of it. He was an energizer bunny all night, playing great defense and crashing the offensive glass.

The Lakers took control of the game in the second half of the third quarter and never looked back in the blowout victory.

What’s next for the Lakers

The Lakers will be back in action on Friday night when they head north to take on the Golden State Warriors in a rematch from Opening Night. They will then return home to host the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.