Lakers Star Sends Firing Shot After Clippers Fight: ‘I Ain’t Afraid of Nobody’
Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic refuses to be a pushover.
After Tuesday’s brawl between the Lakers and Clippers, which Kris Dunn instigated, Doncic sent a clear warning to the rest of the NBA. In his postgame news conference, Doncic explained the events leading to Dunn’s ejection and Jaxon Hayes receiving a technical foul for defending him from the Clippers guard.
“I was going for a rebound, and I got a cheap shot in my back,” Doncic said of how Dunn instigated the brawl, via Spectrum SportsNet.
“…I’m not gonna just stand, you know,” he continued. “I ain’t afraid of nobody. I won’t just stand there and let it go… That’s what the game is about. Sometimes it’s gonna get physical. There’s a lot of trash talk. I live for that, so I love it.”
Luka Doncic (43 points, 13 assists , and 9 rebounds) discusses LeBron and AR starting off the 4th Q strong, Paying Jaxson Hayes’ fine, the NBA Cup courts, and his scoring success against the Clippers.
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Luka Doncic Thanks Jaxson Hayes
The incident involving Doncic, Hayes and Dunn occurred with 3:37 left in the fourth quarter when the Lakers had a comfortable 123-113 lead. After Ivica Zubac made a basket to cut the deficit to 10, Dunn ran into Doncic, who fell to the floor from the physical contact. An angry Doncic would charge towards Dunn, who would respond by pushing the ball into the Slovenian’s chest, prompting Hayes to get involved.
Hayes, who shares a close bond with Doncic on and off the court, shoved Dunn, who responded by hitting the Lakers center in the face. The referees consulted the replays before ejecting Dunn and slapping Hayes with a technical foul.
Doncic thanked Hayes for having his back.
“I appreciate him. I told him right away, ‘thank you for having my back,'” Doncic said of his conversation with Hayes after Tuesday’s incident.
“That says a lot about him, and a lot about this team. Everybody has each other’s back.”
Luka Doncic to Cover for Hayes
The Slovenian also confirmed in his postgame interview with NBC Sports that he will foot the bill for Hayes, who will incur a $2000 fine for a technical foul.
“I’ll pay his fine for sure,” Doncic announced after the game.
Doncic finished with 43 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds, including 32 first-half points, as the Lakers completed a 135-118 rout of the Clippers. The performance marked Doncic’s 51st career 40-point game, while he barely fell short of his 10th career 40-point triple-double. LeBron James and Austin Reaves were excellent in their roles as the second and third options, combining for 56 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists.
The Lakers (13-4) won their fifth straight game and improved to 3-0 in the NBA Cup. According to the NBA, the Lakers have clinched Group B in the in-season tournament, joining the Toronto Raptors as the second team to qualify for the Knockout rounds.
The @Lakers are the first Western Conference team to advance to the Emirates NBA Cup Knockout Rounds after winning West Group B.
With the Lakers and Raptors into the Quarterfinals, six spots remain up for grabs as Group Play continues Wednesday and concludes Friday.
Warriors will see some new faces in playoff rematch against Rockets
Six months after the Warriors eliminated the Rockets in seven games of April’s first-round playoff series, the teams are set for the sequel.
Some of the themes will be similar on Wednesday night, but many of Houston’s leading actors and circumstances have changed.
Gone from the Rockets’ lineup are Jalen Green and the mercurial Dillon Brooks, now in Phoenix as part of an epic seven-team trade that brought Kevin Durant to Houston (and included the Warriors acquiring rookie Alex Toohey). But the superstar who helped lead the Warriors to back-to-back titles will miss the game for personal reasons.
But the Warriors, coming off a 134-117 drubbing of the Jazz on Monday night, are facing issues of their own, and the Rockets are a different beast.
“With all due respect to Utah, Houston is one of the elite teams in the league,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.
The Warriors could look a little different on Wednesday night, as well. Longtime Houston antagonist Draymond Green might miss the matchup with a sprained foot. Jonathan Kuminga will be out for a seventh straight game with knee soreness, and Al Horford will be sidelined because of sciatica.
And if there is one team that can test the Warriors’ paper-thin frontcourt, it is the Rockets and their behemoth double-big lineup with Steven Adams and Alperen Sengun.
The Rockets led the league in offensive rebounds a year ago, and they’ve doubled down on crashing the boards in Year 3 under coach Ime Udoka.
They averaged a league-high 16.5 offensive rebounds per game, or 35% of their missed shots.
Once again, it is immovable 7-footer Adams who paces the team in that department. In just 22.2 minutes per game, he’s grabbing a league-high 5.2 offensive boards a night.
Sengun, Clint Capela and San Leandro native Amen Thompson all average over two a night. Thus, corralling the Rockets on the glass will be a top priority for Golden State as it looks to regain some momentum after snapping a three-game losing streak.
“We’ve got to prepare for them and be ready for their force,” Kerr said.
The Warriors rank 22nd in overall rebounding and 21st in offensive rebounding, and are well aware that the Rockets present problems after missed shots.
However, they received a boost of vitality Monday night. Gary Payton II wrecked Utah with his constant activity – eight assists and four rebounds were a testament to that – leading Buddy Hield to dub him a “6-2 center.”
He was not Green, but he sure did a great impression.
“(Draymond) demands a lot on the court and he does a lot for us on the court, and with him out, just trying to fill his activity, and what he does, and what he brings to the team, and do a little bit of everything,” Payton said of his performance Monday night.
One matchup on the perimeter is more familiar after Thompson made a name for himself in the playoffs by guarding Curry uber-physically.
Curry scored 31 against the Jazz and will need to have a big night against a Rockets defense that might double him with more frequency than Utah did.
“They were doing a lot of switching so I could kind of go to work one-on-one more than other teams,” Curry said of his approach against Utah.
Curry alone attempted 17 3-pointers on Monday night, making six of them, while the Warriors were 19-of-52 as a team. They’re second in the league with 44.1 attempts per game.
Unlike the Warriors, Houston does not take many shots from behind the line — but the Rockets make them count. The Rockets are dead last in 3-point attempts per game at 30.3 but they make an NBA-best 42%.
When teams scramble defensively after Houston’s offensive boards, that leaves shooters such as Reed Sheppard and Jabari Smith Jr. wide open on the perimeter to punish teams who can’t close out possessions.
Draymond, Kuminga return to court
Draymond Green practiced Tuesday, coach Steve Kerr told reporters after the Warriors’ workout session. He is questionable for Wednesday’s game against Houston.
Jonathan Kuminga remains out for the game but did some 3-on-3 work before the team’s practice. The Warriors plan for him to return to some 5-on-5 time pregame Wednesday, then the training staff will evaluate him again.
