Luka calls out slippery court after win over Clips

LOS ANGELES -- Maybe the bright, yellow alternative NBA Cup court the Los Angeles Lakers played on for the first time when they hosted the LA Clippers in Tuesday's 135-118 win should have come with a warning label.

"It's just slippery. It's dangerous," Lakers star Luka Doncic said after the game. "I slipped. I slipped a lot of times and you could see a lot of players slipped. And that's dangerous, man."

The Lakers improved to 3-0 in NBA Cup play to clinch their group and earn a cash prize of $53,093 per player for securing a spot in the quarterfinals for the in-season tournament that will culminate with a championship game in Las Vegas next month. The league provides each team with an alternative court - many with bold, radiant color schemes -- to act as a promotional tool for the event, which was launched during the 2023-24 season in an attempt to infuse life into a sometimes overlooked portion of the pre-Christmas schedule.

The Lakers played on alternative courts in Memphis and New Orleans in NBA Cup games before Tuesday and Doncic said he could not remember those courts having the same problems with sneaker traction.

Doncic said he noticed the slippery court during his pregame warmups and a Lakers assistant coach requested for a court attendant to do an extra sweep of the court before tipoff, but it wasn't enough to prevent the court from affecting game action.

"Sometimes courts just don't dry well when there's condensation on it," Lakers coach JJ Redick said after the game. Crypto.com Arena is also the home of the NHL's Los Angeles Kings, who hosted a game against the Ottawa Senators on Monday. The ice rink was then converted to the new NBA Cup court for Tuesday.

The Lakers are aware of Doncic's concerns and are working to address them before hosting the Dallas Mavericks on the same court on Friday.

If the Lakers beat the Mavs on Friday, they will clinch a home game in the NBA Cup quarterfinals to be played the week of Dec. 8.

The court didn't prove to be too big of an obstacle for the Lakers to handle the Clippers, however.

Doncic scored 24 of his 43 points in the first quarter and added 13 assists and nine rebounds. Austin Reaves scored 18 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter and added nine rebounds and three steals. And LeBron James scored 18 of his 25 points in the second and third quarters -- his highest scoring game since returning from his sciatica injury -- and added six rebounds and six assists.

The only other danger besides the court came late in the fourth quarter when Clippers guard Kris Dunn and Doncic exchanged words after Dunn pushed Doncic in the back when the Lakers guard was going for a rebound.

"I was waiting for the rebound when I got a cheap shot in my back, so I'm not going to just stand [for that]," Doncic said. "I ain't afraid of nobody. I'm not just going to stand there and let it go. The ref was right there. I don't understand how he couldn't call a foul on that one, but that's what the game is about.

"Sometimes it's going to get physical, there's a lot of trash talking. I live for that. So, I love it."

Doncic also loved his teammate Jaxson Hayes coming to his defense by pushing Dunn in the chest. After an official's review, Dunn was assessed two technical fouls and ejected and Hayes was also given a tech.

Doncic told Hayes he would cover the $2,000 penalty that comes with the tech -- he can dip into that $53,000 for it after all.

"I got it," Doncic said of the fine. "I appreciate it. I told him right away, 'Thanks for having my back.' And that says a lot about him. That says a lot about this team. Everybody has got each other's back."