There was no load management to worry about today. With the bright lights shining and the eyes of the world focused on them, superstars LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kawhi Leonard, and Paul George all took to the floor.

Davis and James had nagging injuries, but they didn’t let that stop them from playing.

Skills were on display early on, with Leonard hitting an early three off the dribble and Davis using his size and strength to bully players down low.

The Klaw was a dominant force as expected in the first quarter, scoring 14 points. Kyle Kuzma was feeling it though, and the red-hot youngster had 15 points in 6 minutes after making 3 of 4 threes. He helped the Lakers to a 33-31 lead at the end of the period.

You could see that James wasn’t 100%, which clearly had an effect on his slow start to the game, and he went 0 for 7 from the field and failed to register a field goal until there was halfway through the second quarter. It was his second-worst start to a game in his career, only behind the time he started 0 for 8 in 2005.

Neither team played particularly great defense in the first half. The first defensive highlight was a huge chasedown block from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope with a little over 9 minutes left but also hurt him and sent him to the locker room.

Both James and Davis were off the floor for a spell in the second quarter, but that didn’t seem to affect the Lakers too badly.

The Clippers and Lakers traded leads numerous times in the rest of the second quarter, but the Lakers bench kept them in the game. A big run late in the second quarter, punctuated with Anthony Davis blocking Paul George that led to Kuzma making a big three, then Davis making three free throws after being fouled in the act of shooting from the half-court line with 1.3 seconds left, ballooned the Lakers’ lead to 63-51 at halftime.

Davis finished the half with 14 points and Kuzma led all scorers with 19 points. James powered through his tough shooting start and contributed in other ways, finishing with 8 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists.

Leonard was the bright light halfway through the game for the Clippers with 18 points and 7 rebounds. Paul George had a quiet 7 while shooting 3 of 10.

The Clippers started to find a rhythm in the third quarter, and their defense led to a number of transition points and a 16-3 run that suddenly cut the deficit to 71-69. The James and Davis then answered with a couple of quick buckets to stop the bleeding.

Most of the third quarter was a back and forth affair again, and The Clippers finished strong thanks to their bench players and tied the game thanks to a Landry Shamet three pointer to set up an 86-86 start to the fourth quarter.

As he’s done all of his career, James came up big for his team when it mattered. The teams traded baskets to keep the game tied, until James finally made his first three and Caldwell-Pope followed up with another to give the Lakers to a 96-90 lead. James then followed up with another three and mid-range jumper to make the game 101-94.

Leonard and George aren’t exactly the type to give up, though, and they answered with a 7-0 run of their own that tied the game at 101-101.

The Clippers took their first lead of the second half at 105-103 thanks to a pair of free throws from Lou Williams. Leonard hit a pair of his own to push it to 107-103 with 2:30 left.

James was fouled with 41.9 seconds left and the Lakers behind 4. He split them to keep the game at 109-106 with 39.8 seconds.

The Lakers jacked up too many threes instead of being patient on offense in the closing minutes of the game. They went ice cold from beyond the arc in the fourth, including a James attempt that was blocked by Patrick Beverley and led to possession switching to the Clippers with 3.4 seconds left.

The Clippers may have had some strange losses this season, but they seem to have the Lakers’ number so far this year. The 111-106 victory has officially made this the best start to a season in franchise history.

Very few regular season games have a playoff feel to them. This was certainly one.

Leonard was the best player on the floor and finished with 35 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, and only 3 turnovers. George had 17 points and 5 rebounds, while Harrell had 18 points and 6 rebounds.

James finished with 23 points, 9 rebounds, and 10 assists, while Davis had 26 points and 6 rebounds. Kuzma also chipped in 26 points.

Other Notes

Patrick Beverley had the biggest plus/minus rating with +26 in 32 minutes. His defense was stellar as usual and he made a big impact with his offensive rebounds as well.

Lou Williams had a pretty bad game. He was largely absent on offense with only 6 points.

Javale McGee had a big game on the defensive end, with 5 blocks.

Rajon Rondo thought he was Steph Curry after making his first three. His 1 of 5 performance from beyond the arc will haunt the Lakers in a game decided by such a close margin.