Spurs roll past the Lakers at Staples Center

 In the first home game since the Magic Johnson takeover, the Los Angeles Lakers are routed by the Spurs in a 119-98 loss.

Maybe it was the early start time but something prevented the Lakers from making the early stops and Spurs star Kawhi Leonard took advantage scoring his first seven shots. By the end of the first quarter, the Lakers trailed by 16. At halftime, they were down 61-41.

Lakers rookie Brandon Ingram and his long arms were tasked with guarding Leonard. Ingram didn’t get discouraged as Leonard sliced and diced the defense and scored a game-high 25 points in 25 minutes of play.

Ingram kept his cool and stayed aggressive scoring a career-high 22 points. It was nice to see him play both aggressively and selfishly, taking it to the hole every chance he got. Sometimes selfish isn’t such a bad word.

Jordan Clarkson had 19 points for the Lakers and D’Angelo Russell added 18 in a game that felt doomed from the beginning. You know you’re in trouble when Pau Gasol drains two three-pointers in the first period. Gasol ended up with 15 points with LaMarcus Aldridge adding 16 and 9 rebounds.

It was a tough night for Luke Walton’s team as they shot only 46% and committed 12 turnovers leading to 19 points. New Laker Tyler Ennis made his debut playing along side D’Angelo Russell. He ended up with 5 points. Fellow newcomer Corey Brewer had 5 as well.

The Spurs (45-13) have now beaten the Lakers eight consecutive times, seven straight at Staples. The Lakers fall to 19-41 on the season. They move on to play Charlotte on Tuesday.

Next: Jonathan Quick returns to the Kings

These two teams meet again April 5^th in San Antonio.