Clippers at Lakers
LeBron James will miss his second consecutive game when the Los Angeles Lakers battle the visiting Los Angeles Clippers on Friday at Staples Center. James injured his left groin Christmas Day and is unlikely to play again until early in 2019.
The Lakers collapsed without James on Thursday as they led by 15 with less than seven minutes to play before suffering a 117-116 road loss against the Sacramento Kings. "With him being hurt, this was the first close game we've been in that he's not there," Lakers coach Luke Walton said in his postgame press conference after his team's fourth loss in six games. "If LeBron James is playing in that game, it probably finishes a little differently." The Clippers knocked off the visiting Kings 127-118 on Wednesday for their third win in four games while scoring at least 125 points for the fifth consecutive contest. "I thought offensively we had the most shots and created different plays for different guys," Clippers forward Tobias Harris told reporters after the win. "I thought our pace was really good, so we can take that into our next game."
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, NBATV; Prime Ticket (Clippers) Spectrum SportsNet (Lakers)
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (20-14): Backup power forward Montrezl Harrell continued his strong season with 22 points and nine rebounds against the Kings for his third 20-point outing in six games and 11th of the season. The 24-year-old is flourishing in his fourth NBA campaign and is shooting 63.6 percent from the field while putting up career-best averages of 15.5 points and 6.7 rebounds. "I'm glad he's on our team," Harris told reporters of Harrell. "He was everywhere -- defensively, offensively, rebounding, scoring, making good plays. He was a big reason why we won (Wednesday)."
ABOUT THE LAKERS (20-15): Point guard Lonzo Ball narrowly missed a triple-double with 20 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds Thursday but had to be removed from the game with 1:42 remaining when he was hit with a severe leg cramp. "The way Lonzo was playing, I wanted the ball in his hands all the time," Walton told reporters. "Unfortunately, he started cramping up so we couldn't put that type of load on him." Forward Kyle Kuzma took 24 shots (making 12) with James out while scoring 33 points for his third time topping 30 this season.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Lakers won last season's final meeting after the Clippers prevailed in 21 of the previous 23 matchups.
2. Clippers backup G Lou Williams scored 24 points against Sacramento for his third 20-point effort over the past four games.
3. Lakers PG Rajon Rondo (finger) is expected to miss his second straight game.