In the Los Angeles derby, Luka Doncic was the hero for the Lakers to beat the Clippers.
In the Lakers' 108-102 victory over the Clippers without Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura, Luka Doncic scored 29 points, while LeBron James finished with 17 points, just one point shy of reaching 50,000 points in his career.
With three minutes remaining, the five-time All-Star, who turned 26 on Friday, made sure the Lakers' 21-point lead from the third quarter wasn't wasted by making a fadeaway midrange jumper over Kris Dunn to put the team ahead 107-96.
Luka leads Lakers to victory
Doncic filled the box score with 29 points, nine assists, and six rebounds.
His five 3-pointers on nine attempts were his most in a Lakers uniform, and he shot 9 for 17 from the field. From outside the arc, Doncic entered Sunday 14 for 58.
LeBron James finished one point short of achieving 50,000 career points (regular season and playoffs combined) with 17 points (6-of-17 shooting), nine assists, and five rebounds.
Wing rookie Dalton Knecht converted five of his eight 3-point attempts and finished with 19 points.
Finney-Smith had three rebounds and eleven points to help the Lakers.
For his first double-double of the season, Kawhi Leonard led the Clippers with a season-high 33 points on 13 of 23 shooting and 10 rebounds.
Despite missing 10 of his 14 shots, James Harden contributed 13 points and eight assists.
Dunn finished with four assists and fifteen points while Zubac finished with a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out late.
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