Clarkson Carries Lakers Over Pacers; Snap Two Game Losing Streak

*Stats courtesy of NBA.com and Yahoo Sports*

Jordan Clarkson exploded off the bench for 33 points to go with 7 rebounds and 7 assists to help the Lakers pull away from the Pacers 86-99 to snap a two game skid. Larry Nance Jr. followed with a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Julius Randle lead all starters in scoring with 14 points while Kyle Kuzma closely followed with 13 points to go with 5 rebounds.

Final Score: vs. Indiana 86-99 [W]
Full article: http://www.nba.com/games/20180119/INDLAL#/recap

Next Game: vs. New York (01/21)

Highlights: *Courtesy of MLG Highlights*

Wow, this game is one of the most unorthodox ways the Lakers can do to pull off a win. I'm gonna address the biggest lowlight of this game to get it out of the way: free throw shooting. 2-14 from the charity stripe. Clarkson was the only one who made two of those free throws. The rest of the players who stepped up to the line: Kuzma, Randle, Ennis, Nance, and Lopez didn't make any. There's no sugarcoating it, free throws have been the Lakers' glaring weakness this season. By shooting at such a pourous percentage, this was the Lakers' game to lose. There were a couple of stints where the Pacers were making a couple of runs. But, luckily they missed some shots and they tried to play hero ball by forcing the offense through Victor Oladipo and Lance Stephenson. Indiana also shot poorly from three which helped masked the Lakers' woes from the free throw line. Obviously, we'll take the Pacers' shooting 8% from deep over the Lakers' shooting 14% from the free throw line here and the overall win. Jordan Clarkson needed one of those "break out of the funk" type of game and he got one here. When the Pacers made a run, Clarkson responded with a score or setting up teammates in transition. Nance, Caruso, and Kuzma benefited from Clarkson's all-around game. He did a good job this game being aggressive as a scorer and facilitator, something the backup guards need to do with Lonzo out. Ennis showed flashes of that during the first half too before foul trouble hampered him. The 2014 draft class for the Lakers has been a forgotten one in the midst of the trade rumors. With no Zo, no B.I., no KCP, Clarkson stepped it up as did Randle as a starter. Randle was efficient again with 14 points on 7-12 shooting and displayed some solid activity on the defensive end. But then again, Clarkson gets the spotlight with his elevated play to give the Lakers the W this game.

Lakers End Skid with Win over Pacers

Welcome in to the full recap of the Lakers' home matchup vs. the Indiana Pacers where the Lakers notched a much-needed win beating the Pacers 96-108 to snap their current losing skid.

Great way to end the home stand on a high note. In the Lakers' recent skid, they've been lacking in some effort during those last few games and half of those games resulted in blowouts. Tonight, they played a very solid game with great effort on both sides of the ball against Paul George and the Pacers. 

(+)

Lou Williams, 27 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 7-15 shooting. There's no denying, Lou Williams is the best player and the best scorer on the team. He had a couple of three pointers that almost went in, but didn't to put him at the 30 point mark. Sweet Lou did what he did best tonight: shooting threes, drawing contact, driving to the basket. He should be in the conversation for Sixth Man of the Year by the time this season ends.

Brandon Ingram, 15 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals. I said it in the Portland game last Thursday, Ingram is doing a great job being more assertive to NBA play. I'm very impressed with the way he's playing this month. He's being more aggressive. His 3-point game is slowly, but surely beginning to connect. I personally think with the way Ingram played in place of Luol Deng this month, he should get a shot at starting from here on out because he's been producing the last few games since being inserted into the starting lineup. He filled the stat sheet again tonight.

Julius Randle, 16 points, 5 rebounds, 7-13 shooting. During the skid, I keep seeing Randle being held to single digit. Even though I don't react much with the Quick Fact Checks, I was concern about Julius' recent slump. I was like "this guy should be stuffing the stat sheet." I liked Randle's energy and effort tonight to shake off the slump. I liked the aggressiveness and hustle that he displayed tonight. It's a matter of consistency for Randle. He's more than capable of double-doubling every single game.

Nick Young, 15 points, 5-13 shooting. I was sure that when Nick Young landed awkwardly on his foot, he was questionable to return. It's a good thing I'm no doctor. Swaggy P was raining threes all game alongside Sweet Lou and I thought he did a great job containing Paul George defensively. PG13 was relatively quiet until he stat padded when the game was well out of reach with 21 points. I gotta credit Clarkson as well. Both him and Young did well defending PG13.

Tarik Black, 8 points, 13 rebounds. I really like Black's effort. This dates back to last year, but Byron Scott didn't want to give him playing time. He's making the most out of it with the playing time. He was known for cutting and dunking and rebounding, but he showed more than that tonight with the jump hooks and the facilitation of the basketball.

(-)

There was really not much I can complain about here. The Lakers did a fine job negating mistakes tonight against a good Pacers team.

MVP

Lou Williams, 27 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 7-15 shooting

Sweet Lou has been nothing short of amazing since coming to the Lakers. It was another day in the scoring office for him tonight against the Pacers.




Conclusion

Overall, great win from the Lakers, especially to snap the losing streak. The Lakers wrap up a 3-game home stand. Now, they face a 3-game road stand after this. Road games for the Lakers have been relatively unfriendly to them this season. This road stretch ahead is no joke. They play at Dallas on Sunday and play at Portland and at Utah on back-to-back sets. The Mavs, Blazers, and Jazz have the Lakers' number this season. Tough outing, but if the Lakers repeat this effort from tonight, anything can happen. Of course, D'Angelo Russell's status needs to be updated. Again, it's reported he has a mild MCL sprain, so it's likely he'll miss this road stretch. The Lakers need to be at full strength. That means Larry Nance, Jr. has to come back and hopefully, D'Lo makes a speedy recovery. It's a fight to the finish for that 8th seed for the playoffs in the West, but we're more focused that the Lakers finish strong by season's end. But again, great win against the Pacers. Gotta see if the Lakers can build some consistency as they take on a 3-game road stretch. The back-to-back against the Blazers and Jazz are gonna be televised on ESPN and  TNT. So I'll see you guys on Wednesday and Thursday for those games.

01/20: LAKERS vs. Indiana Pacers 2nd Half Open Thread and Discussion

The 2nd half of the Lakers-Pacers matchup. As usual, leave a comment below the post to share your thoughts on the half.

Q4

IND 96 LAL 108

Losing skid is over! The Lakers played with more effort and energy out there than the Pacers did. Pretty much, this whole 2nd half, the Lakers took this game over. They allowed Indiana to get back in for a bit, but they mustered enough to get the win. Players getting injured early on, but they endured. Stay tuned for the full recap. 

Q3

IND 75 LAL 86

Didn't like the way the Lakers ended that 3rd quarter. The team was playing sloppy ball and forcing up shots when they built up a huge lead, but luckily Nick Young's three quelled that talk for a bit. Overall, solid quarter for the Lakers. Solid quarter for Brandon Ingram especially. 10 points this quarter from him to go with 15 points. Sweet Lou, Young, Clarkson, Black, and Randle contributed as well to give the Lakers some cushion against this Pacers team. Like I said though, they allowed the Pacers to creep back in down the stretch. They have to clean that up to close this game out.

01/20: LAKERS vs. Indiana Pacers 1st Half Open Thread and Discussion

Welcome to the 1st half open thread and discussion of the Lakers' matchup vs. the Indiana Pacers. Leave a comment below and share your thoughts on the game.

Q2

IND 53 LAL 51

Down by two against a red hot Pacers team? Not too shabby. Although the Pacers did gain some life in this quarter and it looked like they were about to pull away, but good job on the part of the Lakers to hang around. In this first half alone, Julius Randle has put up more numbers than the last few games. He's been relatively quiet in the Lakers' recent skid, but he's gaining that aggressiveness back tonight. It's the consistency that needs to be addressed in Randle's game. Of course, the big negative here, D'Angelo Russell and Nick Young go down. Russell's foot got caught with Randle and his knee bent awkwardly. ESPN reports that it's a sprain MCL. So, most likely he's not going back to the game. Nick Young landed awkwardly on his foot as he was about to shoot before the shot clock expired. He went down for a bit and no question he's questionable to return. But, like I said, the Lakers are hanging around despite the injuries. You never know if that's going to take its toll late in the game with the losses of both D'Lo and Swaggy P. But the fact of the matter, they have to keep up with this effort that they put up so far. For sure, this is probably the closest they've trailed in this recent skid and they have to keep competing and try to make PG13, Al Jefferson, and the Pacers miss shots. The 2nd half will open up shortly.

Q1

IND 24 LAL 27

Well, the last thing the Lakers want to start off is two players going down. D'Angelo Russell accidentally contacts Julius Randle and his knee lands awkwardly. They said that it's a possible MCL sprain, which makes him questionable to return. Then Mozgov gets shaken up midway through the first, which is why Tarik Black and Ivica Zubac saw action earlier than expected. Despite all that, the Lakers are still competing. The Pacers turned the ball over a couple of times, which was opportune for the Lakers. Julius Randle got to a fast start and Nick Young and Lou Williams drained a couple of threes. Brandon Ingram continues to make good use starting. He's been terrific lately. Overall, encouraging quarter to see despite the early injuries.