For the 28th time in 35 meetings, the Clippers beat the Lakers. Thursday night, the 118-94 win completed a regular-season series sweep. It was the first time the Clippers had beaten anyone by 20 points or more since April started.
But the big takeaway is that the Clippers probably should have beaten the Lakers by 40.
This wasn’t about the Lakers, per se. Sure, there are some (definitely not all) people who want to see the Clippers and Lakers face off in the quarterfinals. That would be the case if the season ended today. But the Clippers shouldn’t be concerned with beating the Lakers, a team that hasn’t won back-to-back games since April started.
Yes, the Lakers are the defending champs. But the Clippers have beaten them both with LeBron James and Anthony Davis playing and without them this season. Thursday night saw the Lakers take their first lead of the season against the Clippers. It was 2-0 after a Davis field goal.
