A new energy will envelop the rivalry between the Los Angeles Lakers and the visiting Los Angeles Clippers when the teams meet Friday.
While the Lakers are incorporating Luka Doncic into the mix, the Clippers continue to look for a flow since Kawhi Leonard rejoined the team.
The Clippers are just 2-3 in a run of eight consecutive road games, although they will enter the Friday contest coming off a 122-117 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday. James Harden scored 30 points, including a decisive 3-pointer with 14.4 seconds remaining.
Leonard scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds in 33 minutes. He is averaging 16.9 points and 4.8 rebounds in 17 games since making his season debut in January after dealing with knee soreness.
Leonard has missed seven of the 24 games the Clippers have played since his return, with the team going 13-11 over the entire stretch. The team also went 13-11 in the previous 24 games.
Harden struggled in the first half against the Bulls, shooting 1 of 5. But he broke free with 20 third-quarter points, as he made five of his seven 3-point tries in the period. The Clippers went 8 of 11 (72.7 percent) from long distance in the third.
“Being aggressive. It’s a mindset,” Harden said about his performance in the third quarter. “The first half, the zone kind of staggered us a little bit, slowed us down, but that’s why there’s two halves to a game.”
Doncic scored 21 points and pulled down 13 rebounds in the Lakers’ 111-102 home victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday. Against the Clippers, he has averaged 32.6 points in 18 career games.
Doncic has played in just six games since missing six weeks with a calf strain, and a second game in two nights is looming. He sat out the second game of the Lakers’ only prior back-to-back since he was acquired from the Dallas Mavericks on Feb. 2.
The Lakers’ other star, LeBron James, compiled 33 points and 17 rebounds against Minnesota but looked to be favoring his right hamstring late in the game.
“I’m good,” James said. “We’ll see how I feel when I get up (Friday morning).”
There were other causes for concern, including Rui Hachimura departing in the third quarter with a left knee strain.
Even though Doncic hit the 20-point mark for the second time with Los Angeles, he shot just 6 of 20 from the floor and 1 of 9 from 3-point range. He is shooting 22.4 percent (11 of 49) from long distance with his new team.
“We trust Luka as a shooter and as a decision-maker and the type of shots he’s been able to create throughout his career,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “I think we’ve all had stretches like that. He’ll find his rhythm. We’re confident he will.”
The Lakers are now 4-2 with Doncic on the court.
After the Clippers won 11 consecutive games between the teams, the Lakers have won four of the past six, including a 122-97 victory on the Clippers’ home court Feb. 4. James scored 26 points for the Lakers in that one, while Norman Powell had 20 for the Clippers.
Powell, the Clippers’ leading scorer at 24.2 points per game, has missed the past four contests with left knee soreness. He was considered questionable for Friday.
