Facing a deficit that would take a Christmas miracle to overcome, the Lakers went to work trying to stuff their stocking with the unlikeliest of victories.
The purple and gold trailed their Staples Center co-tenants, the Clippers, by as many as 28 points, but the Lakers opened the fourth quarter by sprinting out on a 23-4 run.
However, the Clippers’ lead was too much to overcome, as the Lakers never came closer than seven points in a 94-84 loss on Christmas night.
Led by Julius Randle — who scored all 11 of his points in the final period — the Lakers outscored the Clippers in the fourth, 27-9. While the Lakers hit half of their 22 shots in that frame, their foes went just 4-of-17.
The quarter began with each team’s reserves in the game. Head coach Byron Scott highlighted Marcelo Huertas as the spark for the rally.
“I thought our spacing was much better,” Scott said. “(Huertas) was able to make some plays. Our defense was much better, and then once we got our defense going we were able to get up and down the floor a little bit more.”
Huertas’ fellow point guard, D’Angelo Russell — who scored a team-high 16 points (7-of-13) — pointed out that the desire to return to the starting lineup helps motivate players on the bench.
“You obviously don’t want to stay a reserve,” he said. “No disrespect, but you just want to keep that edge, like feeling like you should be starting.”
However, the furious comeback wasn’t enough to push past three quarters of ugly play that even featured Larry Nance Jr. accidentally tipping a rebound all the way from near the free throw line into the wrong basket.
The Lakers (5-25) also left plenty of their own points at that charity stripe, where they shot just 13-of-25.
Meanwhile, the Clippers (17-13) maintained a steady pace for most of their wire-to-wire win, as Chris Paul dropped 23 points (11-of-19), six assists and three steals, while leading his team to end the third quarter with 14 unanswered points.
Highlights from a furious fourth quarter at STAPLES Center https://t.co/t4vMl3y7Mp
Last Christmas For the 16th and final time, Kobe Bryant suited up on Christmas Day. The 17-time all-star scored 12 points in 26 minutes on a 4-of-10 clip. He leaves as the NBA’s all-time leader in games played and points scored (395) on December 25.
“I’m just so used to playing on Christmas,” Bryant said. “It has kind of become a part of our family routine. I’m just very, very thankful to have been able to have played this many games on Christmas.
“Growing up and watching the Bulls and the Knicks and all of those great games on Christmas Day and being a part of this for so many years has been cool.”
“HE’S HEATING UP!” Kobe Bryant #NBAVote pic.twitter.com/ldfxZ5u6Xb
Fans Want the Mamba The first returns for fan voting for the 2016 All-Star Game were released early in the day, and it was clear that Bryant’s global fan base wants to see him in the midseason exhibition one last time.
Bryant’s league-leading 719,235 votes towered over second-place Stephen Curry, who had 209,033 fewer than the 20-year veteran. Bryant’s tally becomes even more absurd when compared to he and Curry’s other fellow former MVPs, as the Laker has more votes than the combined totals of LeBron James (357,937) and Kevin Durant (349,473).
“I was like, ‘Whoa, that’s pretty good,'” Scott said before the game. “Right now I think Steph is probably the most popular player in the NBA. So for KB to be so far ahead of him … shows the appreciation that the fans have for his body of work over 20 years.”
BREAKING: Kobe Bryant is the leading vote-getter in the first #NBAVOTE returns. Visit Lakers.com to see the full results
A photo posted by Los Angeles Lakers (@lakers) on Dec 25, 2015 at 9:50am PST
Notes Scott said he is leaning toward keeping his starting lineup together for the final three games of the calendar year. … Blake Griffin finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists, though he shot 6-of-17 with six turnovers. … A sold-out crowd of 18,997 packed Staples Center. #MambaMentoring Kobe Bryant #NBAVote A photo posted by Los Angeles Lakers (@lakers) on Dec 25, 2015 at 9:43pm PST
#MambaMentoring Kobe Bryant #NBAVote
A photo posted by Los Angeles Lakers (@lakers) on Dec 25, 2015 at 9:43pm PST
