LA Clippers @ Los Angeles Lakers
Friday, February 20, 2026 at 10:00 PM ET
Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA | Game ID: 22500809
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
LAL 41 31 27 26 125LAC 30 35 30 27 122
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Luka Doncic scores 38 and the Lakers hold off the Clippers 125-122 to split LA rivals' season series
LOS ANGELES -- — Luka Doncic had 38 points and 11 assists, Austin Reaves added 29 points and the Los Angeles Lakers held off the Los Angeles Clippers down the stretch for a 125-122 victory Friday night.
LeBron James had 13 points and 11 assists for the Lakers in their return from the All-Star break. They blew a 15-point lead in the second half, but Doncic scored 12 points in the fourth quarter as the Lakers split the four-game season series with their crosstown rivals.
Kawhi Leonard scored 31 points before missing the final 5:10 with an apparent ankle injury for the Clippers (27-29), who fell just short of getting back to .500 in incredible fashion after their 6-21 start to the season.
Bennedict Mathurin had 26 points and seven rebounds in his second straight outstanding game for his new team before fouling out with 1:49 to play. The athletic guard acquired from Indiana for center Ivica Zubac dropped a career-high-tying 38 against Denver on Thursday.
Derrick Jones Jr . scored on consecutive possessions to trim the Lakers' lead to 123-120 with 46 seconds left. Nicolas Batum then stole James' pass in the final seconds, but the Frenchman missed a tying 3-point attempt with 4 seconds left.
Doncic, James and Reaves were able to play together for only the 11th time in the Lakers’ 55 games this season, thanks to a rare moment of full health for the Lakers coming out of the break. They responded with a prolific offensive performance, even while James managed just two points in the second half.
In Doncic’s return from a four-game absence followed by a five-minute All-Star Game appearance due to a mildly strained hamstring, the Slovenian superstar scored 17 points with four 3-pointers in a dynamic first quarter for the Lakers, who made 16 of 17 shots in one stretch.
Leonard, who had just one bucket in the first, answered with a 19-point second.
The Clippers' John Collins was helped off the court with 18 seconds left in the first half after he bloodied his face on a hard landing while trying to catch a long pass at the rim.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
LALAR A. Reaves
DA D. Ayton
DO Doncic
JH J. Hayes
JL J. LaRavia
JV J. Vanderbilt
LD L. Dončić
LJ L. James
LK L. Kennard
MS M. Smart
RH R. Hachimura
LACBL B. Lopez
BM B. Mathurin
DJ D. Jones Jr.
JC J. Collins
JM J. Miller
KD K. Dunn
KL K. Leonard
NB N. Batum
NI Niederhauser
YN Y. Niederhäuser
LAL/LAC the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur