The Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors suffered painful setbacks in their respective games against the Los Angeles Clippers and the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday.
Marcus Morris scored 22 points and the Clippers dominated a decimated Lakers in a 104-86 win Sunday’s match to end a two-game losing streak.
The Lakers trailed throughout the game without injured star duo LeBron James and Anthony Davis, as well as Andre Drummond and Wesley Matthews. They have lost six of their last nine games.
Montrezl Harrell led the Lakers with 19 points against his former team. Spaniard Marc Gasol was the only starter to score at least 10 points, finishing with 11.
Kyle Kuzma’s performance exemplified the Lakers’ offensive problems, finishing with just six points and as one of four starters that combined to hit the mark. only 12 of 41 field goals.
Kawhi Leonard finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, while Paul George had 16 points for the Clippers.
The Clippers took a double-digit lead midway through the second quarter, which the Lakers couldn’t go below 10 points for the remainder of the game.
Five Clippers players contributed on a 12-3 streak early in the third period, and George’s triple capped the attack that created their biggest lead of 24 points. The Clippers matched that lead later in the same quarter with a triple by Luke Kennard, who scored 12 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter.
The Clippers led to 20 points in the second quarter, shooting 10 in a row in a streak that culminated with successive 3s by Morris.
In the other game, Clint Capela contributed 24 points and 18 rebounds, Danilo Gallinari scored 25 points and the Atlanta Hawks beat the Golden State Warriors 117-111 on Sunday for their third straight win.
Stephen Curry and Draymond Green returned from missing injuries in an embarrassing blowout against Toronto on Friday. The Warriors were a different team, but they couldn’t finish against the Hawks.
