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.

Up next

Clippers: Host Orlando on Sunday.

Lakers: Host Boston on Sunday.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

Play By Play

Recent plays and game events

TIME	PLAY
12:00	Brook Lopez vs. Deandre Ayton (LeBron James gains possession)	0	0
11:43	Luka Doncic misses driving layup	0	0
11:41	Kris Dunn defensive rebound	0	0
11:27	Kawhi Leonard bad pass turnover (LeBron James steals)	0	0
11:23	Deandre Ayton out of bounds lost ball turnover	0	0
11:06	Brook Lopez makes 15-foot hook shot (Kawhi Leonard assists)	0	2
10:49	Luka Doncic misses 27-foot three point step back jumpshot	0	2
10:47	Kris Dunn defensive rebound	0	2
10:42	Brook Lopez makes 7-foot two point shot (Derrick Jones Jr. assists)	0	4
10:42	Luka Doncic shooting foul	0	4
10:42	Brook Lopez makes free throw 1 of 1	0	5
10:33	Austin Reaves makes 3-foot two point shot	2	5
10:16	Brook Lopez makes 12-foot fade away jump shot	2	7
10:03	Derrick Jones Jr. personal foul	2	7
9:56	Austin Reaves makes 22-foot three point jumper (Luka Doncic assists)	5	7
9:30	Kris Dunn makes alley oop layup (Kawhi Leonard assists)	5	9
9:21	Austin Reaves makes driving layup (Luka Doncic assists)	7	9
8:57	John Collins makes 1-foot dunk (Kawhi Leonard assists)	7	11
8:35	Luka Doncic makes 9-foot pullup jump shot (LeBron James assists)	9	11
8:15	John Collins bad pass turnover (Marcus Smart steals)	9	11
8:10	LeBron James makes running layup	11	11
7:52	Brook Lopez misses 28-foot three point step back jumpshot	11	11
7:46	Deandre Ayton defensive rebound	11	11
7:23	LeBron James makes 11-foot fade away jump shot	13	11
7:06	John Collins makes 11-foot turnaround jump shot (Kris Dunn assists)	13	13
6:56	Luka Doncic bad pass turnover (John Collins steals)	13	13
6:53	John Collins makes running layup	13	15
6:45	LeBron James makes 27-foot three point jumper (Austin Reaves assists)	16	15
6:28	John Collins misses 23-foot three point jumper	16	15
6:24	Deandre Ayton defensive rebound	16	15
6:18	Deandre Ayton makes 3-foot dunk (LeBron James assists)	18	15
6:18	Clippers Full timeout	18	15
6:18	Jake LaRavia enters the game for LeBron James	18	15
6:18	Rui Hachimura enters the game for Marcus Smart	18	15
6:18	Jaxson Hayes enters the game for Deandre Ayton	18	15
6:10	Jake LaRavia personal foul	18	15
5:56	Kawhi Leonard makes 16-foot pullup jump shot	18	17
5:30	Luka Doncic makes 25-foot three point step back jumpshot	21	17
5:04	John Collins misses 3-foot jump bank shot	21	17
5:02	Jaxson Hayes defensive rebound	21	17
4:52	Luka Doncic out of bounds bad pass turnover	21	17
4:52	Luke Kennard enters the game for Austin Reaves	21	17
4:52	Bennedict Mathurin enters the game for Kris Dunn	21	17
4:35	Brook Lopez misses 26-foot three point jumper	21	17
4:31	Jaxson Hayes defensive rebound	21	17
4:17	Jaxson Hayes makes 4-foot alley oop dunk (Luka Doncic assists)	23	17
3:51	Derrick Jones Jr. misses 23-foot three point jumper	23	17
3:50	Luka Doncic defensive rebound	23	17
3:40	Luka Doncic makes 27-foot three point step back jumpshot	26	17
3:25	Bennedict Mathurin misses driving floating jump shot	26	17
3:24	Brook Lopez offensive rebound	26	17
3:24	Brook Lopez misses tip shot	26	17
3:23	Brook Lopez offensive rebound	26	17
3:23	Brook Lopez makes two point shot	26	19
3:13	Brook Lopez blocks Jaxson Hayes 's 5-foot jumper	26	19
3:13	Lakers offensive team rebound	26	19
3:13	Yanic Konan Niederhauser enters the game for Kawhi Leonard	26	19
3:13	Jordan Miller enters the game for Brook Lopez	26	19
3:10	Luke Kennard lost ball turnover (Jordan Miller steals)	26	19
2:56	John Collins makes driving layup (Jordan Miller assists)	26	21
2:55	Lakers Full timeout	26	21
2:55	Kris Dunn enters the game for Derrick Jones Jr.	26	21
2:55	Nicolas Batum enters the game for John Collins	26	21
2:38	Luke Kennard makes 25-foot three point jumper (Luka Doncic assists)	29	21
2:22	Bennedict Mathurin makes 16-foot pullup jump shot (Yanic Konan Niederhauser assists)	29	23
2:09	Kris Dunn shooting foul	29	23
2:09	Luka Doncic makes free throw 1 of 2	30	23
2:09	Jarred Vanderbilt enters the game for Jaxson Hayes	30	23
2:09	Luka Doncic misses free throw 2 of 2	30	23
2:07	Nicolas Batum defensive rebound	30	23
1:46	Jordan Miller makes 12-foot two point shot	30	25
1:19	Jake LaRavia makes 24-foot three point jumper (Luke Kennard assists)	33	25
1:09	Bennedict Mathurin misses 25-foot three point pullup jump shot	33	25
1:06	Luka Doncic defensive rebound	33	25
1:01	Luka Doncic makes 25-foot running pullup jump shot	36	25
44.6	Jordan Miller lost ball turnover (Rui Hachimura steals)	36	25
38.4	Luka Doncic makes 28-foot running pullup jump shot	39	25
31.1	Jake LaRavia shooting foul	39	25
31.1	Bennedict Mathurin makes free throw 1 of 2	39	26
31.1	LeBron James enters the game for Jarred Vanderbilt	39	26
31.1	Bennedict Mathurin makes free throw 2 of 2	39	27
17.2	Yanic Konan Niederhauser personal foul	39	27
15.7	Luka Doncic makes 1-foot layup (LeBron James assists)	41	27
1.0	Bennedict Mathurin makes 26-foot three pointer	41	30
0.2	Rui Hachimura misses heave jump shot	41	30
0.1	Lakers offensive team rebound	41	30
0.0	(00:00) [Clippers] COACH'S CHALLENGE (CALL REPLAYCENTER)	41	30
0.0	End of the 1st Quarter	41	30

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Game Information

Time, Location & Referees

Venue

crypto.com Arena

Los Angeles, CA

Date & Time

3:15 AM, February 21, 2026

Coverage

ESPN, Spectrum Sports Net, Spectrum Sports Net +, FanDuel SN SoCal

Attendance

18,997

Referees

Marc Davis, CJ Washington, Mousa Dagher

2025-26 Pacific Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
LA Lakers	38	25	.603	W1
Phoenix	36	27	.571	W1
Golden State	32	30	.516	W1
LA Clippers	30	32	.484	L1
Sacramento	14	50	.219	L3

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Luka Doncic scores 38 and the Lakers hold off the Clippers 125-122 to split LA rivals' season series

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