Lakers, playing without Luka Doncic, have others step up in win over Clippers

Lakers scoring phenom Luka Doncic missed his first game of the young season with back tightness, leaving a giant hole in their offense with the NBA’s leading scorer (36 points per game) sitting out.

Lakers defensive star Ziaire Williams also missed his first game with left foot soreness, leaving them even more depleted with two starters unable to play.

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The Lakers added a lot of depth over the summer in case of injury situations and now it was going to be tested against the Clippers at Intuit Dome.

Collin Sexton is one of the players the Lakers acquired for a moment like Wednesday, and he delivered in a big way, coming off the bench to provide energy and effort in helping the Lakers take a 103-87 victory over the Clippers.

Sexton was at his best in the third quarter, scoring 11 of his 21 points, flexing and pounding his chest after a made basket. His play helped the Lakers open a 22-point lead they never lost.

Read more: High-scoring Lakers stress they need to play championship defense

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He was four for five from the field in the third, six for 11 for the game. He was two for three from three-point range in the third, four for seven for the game. He also had four rebounds and two assists.

Quentin Grimes (23 points), Matisse Thybulle (15) and Austin Reaves (16 points) did their part to help the Lakers improve to 4-1.

Doncic and Williams played against the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena, but they couldn’t go in the back-to-back game.

“Both those guys woke up with some soreness and tightness today — tightness for Luka, soreness for Ziaire,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “We have a tough stretch of games. Not a lot of time between [games so] just being overly cautious.”

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The Lakers next play at the Golden State Warriors on Friday, their fourth game in six days.

Redick was asked if Doncic and Williams would be available for that game.

Read more: Lakers newsletter: Why Collin Sexton’s ‘insanity’ works

“That’s the hope,” he said.

Redick turned to Jarred Vanderbilt, who didn’t play in the first four games, and Jaden Hardy, who played in the first game of the season,…

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Publish date : 2026-10-29 05:17:00

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