The Los Angeles Lakers' young core was impressive early and gave the Clippers a run for the first half, but as has happened so frequently throughout the season, poor play coming out of halftime led to a x Lakers' loss, extending their season-long losing streak to nine games.
The Lakers got DeAndre Jordan in foul trouble in the first quarter (picking up 2 in his first 5 minutes) sending him to the bench and allowing the Lakers to stay close behind aggressive drives from their wings and Julius Randle. Clarkson scored 9 points in the period as the Lakers took advantage of 3 Clippers first quarter turnovers and a lack of rim protection by Cole Aldrich to take a 29-28 lead into the second quarter.