Clippers’ Ty Lue praises LA’s effort in crushing loss to Lakers

The Los Angeles Clippers went down fighting against city rivals the Los Angeles Lakers in a 125-122 loss that saw Kawhi Leonard leave early due to an ankle injury. The Lakers, led by Luka Doncic’s 38 points and 11 assists, fielded all three of Doncic, Austin Reaves and LeBron James in what was one of their best offensive performances of the season.

Post-game, the Clippers’ head coach Tyronn Lue praised his team, claiming that they fought till the end despite considerable adversity.

Tyronn Lue postgame

"Doesn't look like a fuckin' team that's trying to lose to me." pic.twitter.com/0Pdv8KLZiU

— Law Murray (@LawMurrayTheNU) February 21, 2026

“You saw it, that’s who we are. This group, we gonna compete, we gonna fight every night. Doesn’t look like a fuckin’ team that’s trying to lose to me. We gonna scrap every night. We are gonna fight every night. That’s who we are. The teams that gonna play against us, they know we gonna fight every night,” he said per a post on X by The Athletic’s Law Murray.

The Lakers began with an early offensive explosion which was spearheaded by a 17-point quarter from Doncic, as the Clippers returned with a 12-point deficit from the first quarter. The response however, was just as dramatic.

Leonard shot clinically throughout, finishing 11-of-19 on shooting which included a dominant 19-point second quarter that prevented the game from slipping away. The Clippers’ physicality and rebounding provided another encouraging sign.

They generated a significant early advantage in second-chance production, outscoring the Lakers 14-2 on offensive rebounds in the first half. That helped them flip the script as they overturned a 15-point deficit, led by a 17-0 stretch.

However, the turning point proved to be Leonard’s exit with just over five minutes remaining. The Clippers struggled to remain in the game, despite bringing the score to 123-120 with just 46 seconds remaining, eventually losing out.

However, just as he pointed out, Tyronn Lue’s team fought till the end, and will have plenty of positives to take from the loss.

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