LOS ANGELES (News4usonline) – Reggie Jackson put the icing on the cake for the Los Angeles Clippers in their 132-111 win against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena Friday night. Jackson scored 12 points in the fourth quarter to end his evening with 36 points in the season finale between both teams.
The pro-Clippers crowd saluted Jackson for his outstanding play when Brandon Boston Jr. subbed him out of the game with 3:55 remaining in the fourth quarter.
“He loves it. He loves the moment,” Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue said. “He’s a big-time player. I get on him sometimes, we go back and forth. At the end of the day, he’s held us together all year. With Marcus [Morris Sr.] and Nico [Batum] the way they set the tone that third quarter was huge for us.
“To be sitting out that whole second quarter and coming in the third quarter, those guys played well, to really get us over the hump, to take the lead and score 40 points in that third quarter. Our bench really stepped up and did a great job.”
Besides outplaying Russell Westbrook, his former Oklahoma Thunder teammate, Jackson generated a lot of buzz when he crossed over the Lakers guard in a highlight-reel move, one that is sure to get plenty of play on social media.
“It got a little chippy one play,” Jackson said of the crossover move he put on Westbrook. “Being former teammates, we did a little chirping. Not much going on. It felt good. I knew LeBron [James] was sitting in the drop, he was kind of on his heels and my guys did a great job setting screens all night. I just wanted to come off and take that look. That one I, probably, wanted more than any.”
The Clippers had control early, going up by as much as 17 points in the second quarter before the Lakers made a late run in the period to close the gap going into intermission to 66-63. This contest looked like this was going to be a tight ballgame.
The Clippers, however, came out in the third quarter and debunked any thoughts the Lakers had of rallying towards a victory. With Marcus Morris Sr. leading the way with 14 points, the Clippers made 14 of their 22 field goal attempts (63 percent) in the third quarter to turn a three-point halftime lead into a one-time 30-point advantage (103-73). And it was Morris who did the honors with a 26-foot 3-pointer.
Jackson said what enabled the Clippers to extend their lead in the third quarter was staying poised after the Lakers’ scoring onslaught late in the second period and not turning the ball over. During their 40-point blitz in the third quarter, the Clippers turned the ball over just two times.
“It was us,” Jackson said. “We had to take care of the ball. That was the biggest thing. They got into us, they really started forcing turnovers that second quarter stretch. It was lob after lob, dunk after dunk. With all the athleticism they have, once they get out in transition great playmakers makes them difficult. They’re selfless. When they’re moving in transition, they’re high pace, even at their age with the athletes they have. What really kept us calm is I think we have the best coach in the league.”
While the Clippers sizzled during their third quarter scoring barrage, the Lakers fizzled. The Lakers shot 33 percent from the field (7 of 21) and tallied just 18 points. The Clippers, even with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George in street clothes, outclassed the Lakers in that decisive third quarter. But that is not where the game was won.
The Clippers won this game by shooting the lights out from beyond the arc. For the game, the Clippers made 17 of their 27 3-point attempts, a blistering 63 percent.
“Coming into the game we know how great of a three-point shooting team they are, and you give them
open looks they are going to knock them down,” Lakers forward LeBron James said. “We gave up too many open looks and then once the open looks started going in, they even started making the contested ones too. But they are a great shooting team, and it results in another win for them.”
Featured Image Caption: Guard Reggie Jackson scored 36 points to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 132-111 win against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.om Arena on Friday, March 3, 2022. Photo credit: Dennis J. Freeman/News4usonline
Dennis is the editor and publisher of News4usonline. He covers the NFL, NBA, MLB, racial and social justice, civil rights, and HBCUs. Dennis earned a journalism degree from “The Mecca” aka Howard University. “I write on what I am passionate about.”