LOS ANGELES — The Lakers’ first game of the season with a fully healthy roster on Friday night against the Clippers provided all of the glimpses of optimism a stakeholder could hope for.
It also highlighted some of their biggest concerns.
The good for the Lakers in their 125-122 win over the Clippers: Luka Dončić’s hot start, and the offense looking dominant for significant stretches.
Also, the starting lineup of Dončić, Austin Reaves, Marcus Smart, LeBron James and Deandre Ayton looked like a natural fit.
But the concerns remained the same, with the Lakers defense struggling to get stops for significant stretches.
But they got the most important one of the night at Crypto.com Arena when Nic Batum missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer, with the Lakers’ maintaining a 3-point lead, their winning margin.
Dončić led with the Lakers with 38 points, 11 assists and six rebounds. Reaves added an efficient 29 points and six rebounds in his first game back in the starting lineup since December, while LeBron James had a 13-point, 11-assist double-double.
What it means
The Lakers improved to 34-21, including 16-10 at home.
The Clippers (27-29) missed out on a chance to improve to .500 for the first time since early November.
Turning point: Kawhi Leonard’s exit
Leonard was ruled out because of left ankle soreness late in the fourth quarter.
The Lakers took a 112-109 lead after Dončić made a relocation 3, leading to Clippers coach Ty Lue calling a timeout with 5:11 left.
But when the game resumed, Lue didn’t have his best player back on the floor, evaporating a significant chunk of the Clippers’ offensive juice.
The Lakers led for the rest of the way.
Leonard led the Clippers with 31 points, five assists and four rebounds.
Benn Mathurin, coming off scoring a career-high-tying 38 points in Thursday’s home win over the Nuggets, scored 26 off the bench but fouled out with 1:49 remaining.
MVP: Luka Dončić
An unconventional pick of Marcus Smart, who made a pair of clutch 3s and a midrange jumper, was almost made.
But the way Dončić started the game — 17 points and four assists in the first quarter — and closed with 12 points in the fourth sealed his case.
Dončić’s 22 points in the first half marked his league-leading 28th half this season with 20 or more points.
Stat of the game: 54.8%
That was the Lakers’ 3-point percentage against the Clippers, their second-highest percentage from deep in a game this season.
Dončić led the Lakers with 8-of-14 shooting on 3s, with Reaves shooting 4 of 5 from beyond the arc.
Their season-high 3-point percentage remains 55.9%, when they made 19 of 34 3s in the Jan. 13 win over the Hawks.
Up next
The Lakers will host the Celtics on Sunday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. in the nationally-broadcast matchup on NBC/Peacock.
The team will unveil the Pat Riley statue ahead of the game against the Lakers’ longtime rivals.
The Clippers also will remain in Southern California, hosting the Magic on Sunday evening at Intuit Dome.
