Lakers fall to Clippers in opener, a bitter finish to championship celebration - OCRegister

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• The Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard #2 looks for some room during their NBA game against the Lakers at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Tuesday, December 22, 2020. The Clippers beat the Lakers 116-109. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• The Lakers’ LeBron James #23 dunks the ball as the Clippers’ Patrick Patterson #54 looks on during their NBA game at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Tuesday, December 22, 2020. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• The Lakers’ LeBron James #23 dunks the ball as the Clippers’ Patrick Patterson #54 looks on during their NBA game at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Tuesday, December 22, 2020. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• The Clippers’ Serge Ibaka #9 shoots a the Lakers’ Montrezl Harrell #15 defends during their NBA game at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Tuesday, December 22, 2020. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• The Lakers’ Kentavious Caldwell-Pope #1 dunks the ball during their NBA game against the Clippers at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Tuesday, December 22, 2020. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• The Lakers’ Kentavious Caldwell-Pope #1 dunks the ball during their NBA game against the Clippers at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Tuesday, December 22, 2020. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• The Clippers’ Ivica Zubac #40 dunks the ball as the Lakers’ Kyle Kuzma #0 looks on during their NBA game at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Tuesday, December 22, 2020. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• The Lakers’ Kyle Kuzma #0 shoots the ball during their NBA game against the Clippers at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Tuesday, December 22, 2020. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• The Lakers’ Anthony Davis #3 shoots as the Clippers’ Ivica Zubac #40 defends during their NBA game at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Tuesday, December 22, 2020. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• The Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard #2 is fouled by the Lakers’ Marc Gasol #14 during their NBA game at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Tuesday, December 22, 2020. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• The Lakers’ Kyle Kuzma #0 lays the ball up during their NBA game against the Clippers at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Tuesday, December 22, 2020. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• The Clippers’ Serge Ibaka #9 shoots as the Lakers’ Marc Gasol #14 defends during their NBA game at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Tuesday, December 22, 2020. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• The Lakers’ Dennis Schroder #17 lays the ball up as the Clippers’ Luke Kennard #5 defends during their NBA game at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Tuesday, December 22, 2020. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• The Lakers’ Montrezl Harrell #15 goes to the hoop during their NBA game against the Clippers at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Tuesday, December 22, 2020. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• The Lakers’ Kyle Kuzma #0 shoots during their NBA game against the Clippers at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Tuesday, December 22, 2020. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• The Lakers’ LeBron James #23 lays the ball up as the Clippers’ Serge Ibaka #9 defends during their NBA game at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Tuesday, December 22, 2020. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• The Lakers’ LeBron James #23 goes to the hoop as the Clippers’ Ivica Zubac #40 defends during their NBA game at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Tuesday, December 22, 2020. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• The Lakers’ Kyle Kuzma #0 shoots as the Clippers’ Ivica Zubac #40 defends during their NBA game at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Tuesday, December 22, 2020. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• The Lakers’ LeBron James #23 moves the ball up court during their NBA game against the Clippers at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Tuesday, December 22, 2020. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• The Clippers’ Paul George passes the ball as the Lakers’ Kyle Kuzma defends during their season opener on Tuesday night at Staples Center. George scored 26 of his game-high 33 points in the Clippers’ 116-109 victory. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• The Lakers’ Montrezl Harrell #15 blocks the shot of the Clippers’ Patrick Beverley #21 during their NBA game at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Tuesday, December 22, 2020. The Clippers beat the Lakers 116-109. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• The Clippers’ Serge Ibaka #9 shoots as Lakers’ Anthony Davis #3 and Kyle Kuzma #0 defend during their NBA game at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Tuesday, December 22, 2020. The Clippers beat the Lakers 116-109. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• The Clippers’ Paul George #13 shoots as the Lakers’ Kyle Kuzma #0 defends during their NBA game at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Tuesday, December 22, 2020. The Clippers beat the Lakers 116-109. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• The Lakers’ Anthony Davis #3 falls to the court as the Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard #2 looks to shoot during their NBA game at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Tuesday, December 22, 2020. The Clippers beat the Lakers 116-109. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

• The Clippers’ Paul George #13 shoots as the Lakers’ Kyle Kuzma #0 defends during their NBA game at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Tuesday, December 22, 2020. The Clippers beat the Lakers 116-109. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

LOS ANGELES — As long as the Lakers finish this season like they did the last one, Tuesday’s season opener will fade into the background.

But the title defense didn’t start on the right foot, eerily reminiscent of last season’s beginning as the Lakers lost a 116-109 contest to the Clippers at Staples Center, putting a bitter finish on the night they celebrated the championship they won in October.

LeBron James and Anthony Davis combined to score 40 points, but they were largely absent in the late stages of the game as the Clippers’ lead grew in the fourth quarter.  Davis checked out at the 3:37 mark when the lead was 16. James never checked back in after the 7:51 mark. The two combined for just 59 minutes.

James turned his left ankle late in the game, and said coach Frank Vogel and his trainer Mike Mancias made the decision to keep him out for the remainder of the game — but that he anticipated he’d be ready for Friday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks on Christmas. But his overriding feeling, aside from the joy he felt receiving his fourth championship ring was disorientation, as the season arrived much sooner than he felt prepared for.

“I can’t even sit here and lie to you: It was just too much to kind of grasp, but we’re in it now,” he said. “I’m happy today is over with and we can focus on the season. But it’s just a lot. It’s a lot to process.”

Their hallway rivals were all too happy to step on the Lakers’ good vibes.

The defense that was so sturdy for the Lakers during their postseason run in the Orlando bubble might be a challenge to reconstruct. They were felled by a second-half barrage from Paul George, who scored 26 of his 33 points after halftime. Kawhi Leonard (26 points) added on in the fourth quarter with his signature turnaround jumpers that helped put the game just out of reach.

Clippers coach Ty Lue said George showed at his best, “that he’s unstoppable.”

There’s little the Clippers can do to water down the memory of their second-round playoff combustion last season, especially on a night when the Lakers spent a half-hour celebrating their title with a pregame ring ceremony on the court they share. Only a few Clippers, including Marcus Morris (the twin to Lakers’ forward Markieff) ventured out from the tunnel to watch the proceedings.

But like last season, a season-opening win over their intra-city rivals felt like a step in the right direction – even though there will be fewer observers trying to divine playoff implications over the regular season’s first result.

New point guard Dennis Schröder provided a shot of life for the Lakers’ offense in moments when it lulled, scoring 14 points and adding eight assists. Montrezl Harrell, who last played for the Clippers, added 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Kyle Kuzma fresh off a new contract extension, scored 15.

The Lakers started with the urgency of champions still basking in the afterglow of their ring ceremony. The Clippers gave them a rude awakening, hitting 14 of their first 20 shots against half-hearted or non-existent contests. The Lakers were coming off a 72-day turnaround, the shortest in NBA history, but they still registered at preseason speed.

That picked up in the second quarter with a bench stint, as Harrell and preseason darling Talen Horton-Tucker (six points) brought an energy that the starting group had lacked. A 22-point Clippers lead was whittled to two by halftime, and James, in particular, found a groove scoring eight points in the period.

Leonard said he was proud that the Clippers withstood the Lakers’ body blows and stayed connected even as they seemed to be on their heels.

“I think we’re still working and wanting to improve, but I just appreciate everyone staying locked in and focused and just being positive and keeping their heads up,” he said. “Once we seen a lead going down, we talked to each other, and tried to figure out what was going on and we came out in the second half playing good basketball.”

The older members of the Lakers’ offseason acquisitions were especially rough: Neither Marc Gasol nor Wesley Matthews scored in their 23 combined minutes. Gasol was mired in foul trouble, while Matthews finished with just a single steal.

One of the guiding principles of the Lakers’ early going has been avoiding injuries. There was a fourth-quarter scare when Kentavious Caldwell-Pope went down grabbing at his left calf, but he walked off the apparent minor injury and was playing again following a timeout. But the Lakers are likely to be cautious about such soft-tissue ailments, acknowledging that several players aren’t at the conditioning level they would prefer after such a short offseason.

“We’re gonna be conservative with their minutes early on in the season,” Vogel said. “We have the depth to do it.”

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