Clippers seal sweep of LA season series

LOS ANGELES, California (AFP) – Paul George scored a team high 24 points as the Los Angeles Clippers clobbered the Los Angeles Lakers 118-94 on Thursday to sweep the season series between the two California rivals.

While the Clippers are getting healthy at just the right time, the Lakers season is slipping away with their two biggest stars, LeBron James and Anthony Davis nursing ongoing injuries.

“I only came here to win a championship and if we don’t do that we go back to zero. We all know that in the locker room,” said guard Rajon Rondo, who was one of seven Clippers in double figures with 11 points.

The Lakers got more bad news Thursday when Davis left the game in the first quarter and did not return because of back spasms. James and Davis have missed large chunks of the season and once again the reigning NBA champions looked lost on the floor without their primary ball handlers.

Not only are the Clippers healthy again but they are back sharing the ball.

“We have the DNA,” said Rondo. “We have the blueprint in this locker room to do it. It’s just a matter of coming together and believing in one another.”

Superstar Kawhi Leonard played in his third straight game after missing nine games in April with a sore right foot and point guard Patrick Beverley was in his second game since rejoining the team for a 105-100 win over Toronto on Tuesday.

Elsewhere, Luka Doncic scored 24 points as the Dallas Mavericks overcame Kyrie Irving’s 45-point performance with a 113-109 win over the Brooklyn Nets in a clash of two of the top teams in the NBA.

Doncic also had 10 rebounds and he got plenty of help from his supporting cast, including Tim Hardaway, who finished with 23 points in front of the pandemic-limited crowd of 4,600 at the American Airlines Center in Texas. NBA Results:

Detroit 111, Memphis 97; Indiana 133, Atlanta 126; Toronto 129, Washington 131 (OT); Golden State 118, Oklahoma City 97; Charlotte 99, Chicago 120; Dallas 113, Brooklyn 109.