NBA: Lakers ride 39-point 3rd quarter to surge past Clippers

Austin Reaves scored 28 points and added nine assists while Luka Doncic recorded 23 points as the Los Angeles Lakers used a third-quarter surge to stay perfect through two games with a 125-117 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Clippers on Friday.

Walker Kessler scored 22 points, Ziaire Williams contributed 14, while Matisse Thybulle and Quentin Grimes each had 13 as the Lakers won for the ninth time in their past 13 games against the cross-town Clippers.

Kessler hit 10 of 14 shots from the floor and is now 22 of 26 over two games with his new team after a trade from the Utah Jazz in July. The Lakers had 13 steals and forced the Clippers into 26 turnovers that they turned into 33 points.

Doncic committed 11 turnovers, while Kessler and Grimes led all rebounders with eight apiece.

Darius Garland scored 26 points and Brook Lopez added 22 as the Clippers dropped their first road game of the season. Derrick Jones Jr. and Rui Hachimura each scored 16 points.

The Clippers shot 49.4% from the floor and 43.2% from 3-point range but lost as the Lakers shot 58.2% from the floor and 43.8% from distance.

The Lakers led 77-76 with 7:18 remaining in the third quarter when a 3-pointer from Thybulle kicked off a 14-1 run that gave them a 91-77 lead with 3:43 remaining in the period.

The Lakers took a 103-90 lead into the fourth quarter after scoring 39 points in the third while shooting 72.7% from the floor.

The Clippers used an 8-0 run to pull within 119-113 on a 3-pointer from Garland with 3:21 to play before Grimes sealed the victory on two free throws with 40.9 seconds remaining for a 125-117 lead.

The Clippers led 31-27 after one quarter and went up by as many as 11 points less than three minutes into the second before the Lakers closed the gap. A three-point play by Doncic with 5.6 seconds remaining tied the game 64-64 at the half.

Doncic led all scorers with 16 points before the break.

--Field Level Media/Reuters