Lakers at Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers have one soft spot remaining on their schedule and it comes Friday when they host the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center. The Clippers find themselves on an island in the Western Conference, sitting in sixth place - 1 1/2 games behind Utah and 1 1/2 ahead of Oklahoma City - with a first-round playoff matchup against Houston or Portland looming.
The Clippers got a taste of what it might like if they play the Rockets after Houston put a 135-103 beating on them Wednesday. "Every once in a while, you get the (expletive) kicked out of you," Clippers guard Lou Williams told reporters. "We hadn't had one of these in three, four months, so we were due." The Clippers finish the regular season at Golden State on Sunday and against the Jazz on Wednesday in a contest that could decide fourth place in the West. The Lakers were outscored 39-12 in the first quarter of Thursday's 108-90 loss at Golden State as they play out the string in what could be the final games for coach Luke Walton with the club.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, Spectrum SportsNet (Lakers), FS West (Clippers)
ABOUT THE LAKERS (35-44): Alex Caruso was rewarded with his first start of the season Thursday but shot 4-for-14 from the field en route to nine points after scoring a total of 38 in his previous two games. The second-year guard became the first player in team history with at least 23 points, six assists and four steals off the bench since steals became an official statistic in 1973-74 on March 29 versus Charlotte. Rookie forward Johnathan Williams recorded 17 points and a season-high 13 rebounds versus Golden State in 27 minutes, which marked his second-most time of the season.
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (47-32): According to Elias Sports Bureau, Williams (20.2 points) and Montrezl Harrell (16.8) are the highest-scoring reserve duo in NBA history. Landry Shamet, who was acquired from Philadelphia in February, leads rookies in 3-point field goal percentage at 41.9 percent. Danilo Gallinari (19.8) averaged 23.9 points in 13 March games before scoring 16 versus Houston.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Clippers PG Patrick Beverley (7.6 points, 5.0 assists, 3.8 rebounds) is questionable to play Friday after missing the Houston game with a hip pointer.
2. Lakers F Kyle Kuzma (18.7 points) has missed the last three contests because of tendinitis in his left foot.
3. The Clippers have won two of three meetings this season with Williams averaging 27.0 points and shooting 56.9 percent from the field in the series - well above his 42.9 season percentage.