“Not on the Clippers’ level”: Kendrick Perkins thrashes Lakers amid battle of LA’s first-half debacle
LeBron James and the LA Lakers squared off against Kawhi Leonard and the LA Clippers in a highly anticipated battle of LA on Wednesday. However, ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins wasn’t too enthused about the matchup, as he pointed out that the rivalry has become lopsided in favor of the Clippers.
Wednesday’s contest marked the final showdown between the Lakers and Clippers this season. The Lakers entered the night with a 2-1 edge in their season series. However, they got off to a rough start, falling behind 66-52 at halftime.
During ESPN’s halftime show, Perkins completely disregarded the Lakers as a Western Conference threat. The former NBA champion highlighted how they aren’t close to being the same caliber of team as the Clippers.
“It showed me that there are levels to this, and we’re not about to sit here and talk about the Lakers because the Lakers are not on the Clippers’ level,” Perkins said. “The Clippers are on a whole nother journey than the Lakers are right now.”
The Lakers (31-28) entered Wednesday sitting 10th in the Western Conference, clinging to the conference’s final play-in spot. Meanwhile, they have faced criticism for struggling to generate consistent offense outside of their stars throughout the season.
The Clippers (37-19), on the other hand, began the night sitting comfortably in fourth place with a top-five offensive rating (119.1).
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Lakers overcome 21-point deficit to stun Clippers following Kendrick Perkins’ criticism
Kendrick Perkins’ criticism of the Lakers didn't age well. After blasting them at halftime, they rallied from a 21-point fourth-quarter deficit to stun the Clippers 116-112.
The Lakers were led by a game-high 34 points, six rebounds, eight assists, two blocks and seven 3-pointers on 61.9% shooting from superstar forward LeBron James. Meanwhile, all five Lakers starters finished with 13-plus points.
Additionally, the Lakers were able to overcome a combined 49 points from Clippers stars Kawhi Leonard and James Harden.
With the victory, the Lakers (32-28) improved to ninth in the West. They have 22 games remaining to improve their standing in the stacked conference. It remains to be seen if that will be enough for them to get out of the play-in and secure a top-six seed.
However, they should have a good shot at maintaining their momentum when they host the lowly Washington Wizards (9-49) on Thursday. Washington has lost a league-leading 12 consecutive games.
As for the Clippers (37-20), they will look to bounce back when they host the Wizards on Friday.
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