LOS ANGELES — You saw it, Tyronn Lue said.
The Clippers’ head coach didn’t feel the need to elaborate on his team’s commitment to keep playing hard, to overcome the Lakers’ 17 3-pointers, a 16-point second-half deficit and 38 points from superstar Luka Doncic on Friday night. They pushed until there was little left.
Lue didn’t want to talk about how the Clippers had to finish the game without star forward Kawhi Leonard, who experienced soreness in this left ankle, or forward John Collins, who suffered a head injury, or newcomer Bennedict Mathurin, who fouled out, players who might have made a difference if they weren’t on the bench or in the locker room [when the Lakers closed out a 125-122 win](https://www.ocregister.com/2026/02/20/luka-doncics-38-point-night-helps-lakers-hold-off-clippers/) at Crypto.com Arena.
Lue also didn’t find it necessary to comment further on how the Clippers scrapped and battled and played until the final seconds but came up short in their quest to reach the .500 mark, slipping to 27-29 after losing to their crosstown rivals.
But Lue did.
“That’s who we are,” Lue said tersely. “This group, we’re going to compete, we’re going to fight every night, and that doesn’t look like a \[expletive\] team that’s trying to lose to me. We’re going to scrap every night, and that’s who we are.
“JC goes down, Kawhi goes out, Benn fouls out, and guys are still scrambling and competing.”
Lue’s ire stemmed largely from pregame comments made regarding the Clippers’ chances of contending for a title this season after starting at 6-21 and trading two proven starters in James Harden, an 11-time All-Star, and their rim protector, center Ivica Zubac, and getting two young players in return.
“We plan to win,” Lue said. “I don’t care if it’s young, old, toddlers, whatever’s on the floor, we’re trying to win. I mean we are trying to win. There’s no other reason to play.
“And the way this group has been playing, I know we haven’t had a real traditional point guard since James has left and (Darius) Garland is working his way back into it, but these guys are playing hard and competing every night.”
The Clippers found themselves in an early hole, trailing by 11 after the first quarter. The deficit swelled to 16 as LeBron James, Austin Reaves and Doncic hit at nearly every turn, but the Clippers hung in even after Collins left the game late in the second quarter. Collins collided with Lakers reserve center Jaxson Hayes, slamming his head on the court in the fall. He required six stitches to close a gash above his left eye.
Leonard scored 19 points in the second period, helping to keep the visitors within eight points at halftime (70-62). They fell behind by 16 in the third quarter, but they took their first lead on a three-point play by Mathurin with 3:56 left in the period, capping a 17-1 run.
The game remained close in the fourth and the Clippers had a chance to tie the score, but Nicolas Batum missed a 3-pointer with six seconds left. In the end, there were too many missed opportunities and too much Doncic down the stretch (he scored 12 in the fourth) as the Lakers held on to earn a split of the four-game season series.
“I think a lot of it’s obviously out of our control,” Lue said. “You guys saw the game we saw. But I’m absolutely proud of our guys. … If we go out there like that on a nightly basis, regardless of who’s on the floor, we’re gonna be in a good position.”