Even in the Summer League, the Battle of LA between the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers still provide plenty of drama and excitement.
That's the case once again on Sunday as the two LA teams fought a tightly-contested affair that saw the Lakers take the 104-103 win via free throw.
It was definitely a wild ending fitting for a storied rivalry. It would have been a safe win for the Purple and Gold had LJ Figueroa made his free throws with 3.4 seconds left and with the team ahead 103-100. However, he missed not just one but both of his freebies to give the Clippers one final shot to extend the game.
In a wild twist, the Clippers were able to actually do it and tied the game 103-103, courtesy of a Matt Morgan triple from the left wing off an inbound pass. There were only 0.4 second left on the clock after that, so it looked like the game would be decided in overtime.
Unfortunately, point guard Keaton Wallace accidentally fouled Figueroa away from the ball, giving the Lakers one free-throw attempt as a result. Cole Swider was tasked to take the freebies, and he delivered to give the team the edge for the victory.
While it would have been more epic had the game ended with a different clutch bucket rather than a free throw, it was still a rather entertaining back and forth. Hopefully when the 2023-24 season officially begins, we'll get see more intense battles between the Lakers and Clippers.