95:82!
The Los Angeles Clippers, right at the start of the second half, pulled ahead to a double-digit lead thanks to Kai Chen's continuous scoring.
On the sidelines, the young Lakers head coach, Luke Walton, began to grow restless.
Walton, choosing not to call a timeout, stood up and walked to the sideline, roaring at the players on the court!
But his yelling did nothing to change the situation.
The reason was simple: during this stretch, most of the Los Angeles Lakers players—aside from LeBron—were completely out of sync.
They didn't even understand how the score gap had widened so quickly.
LeBron, facing Kai Chen's defense, lofted a higher-arc mid-range jumper to avoid the block, but the shot clanked off the rim.
The defensive rebound was firmly secured by Lopez, who immediately passed the ball to Beverley.
This time, Beverley chose to slow things down, letting the Clippers settle into a half-court offense.
On the wing, Kai Chen once again used Jeff Green's screen to cut free. Ingram, who had been guarding Green, was forced to abandon him and rotate over to Kai.
They absolutely could not allow the Clippers' rookie third overall pick to get another open three.
With the ball in his hands, Kai Chen didn't force the shot this time.
"Wham!"
Spotting Jeff Green wide open, Kai followed the flow of the play and bounced a pass to him.
Green caught it cleanly, took three strong steps, and finished the layup with authority!
97:82!
The gap between the two teams stretched to 15 points!
After the bucket, Green rushed over and high-fived Kai Chen in celebration.
The Los Angeles Clippers' intensity on both offense and defense continued to climb.
For the Los Angeles Lakers, once LeBron's stamina dipped, no one else could step up to stop the slide.
By the time Walton reacted and finally called a timeout, it was already too late.
"After this game, I think the question of whether Kai Chen is a bust can finally be put to rest!"
Looking at the 22-point difference on the scoreboard, Smith spoke passionately from the commentary desk. "If Kai Chen's high score against the Kings in the first game was because the Kings were too weak—"
"Then tonight, against the Los Angeles Lakers, that argument completely collapses. Let's look at his numbers!"
Smith opened the box score. "Right now, Kai Chen has already scored 44 points—and folks, this is before the third quarter has even ended."
"He's shooting 16 for 18 from the field, including 7 for 8 from three-point range! What kind of efficiency is that?!"
"Do you think that's all?!"
"Six rebounds, four assists, three steals, two blocks. These stats may look like icing on the cake, but we can't deny that Kai Chen is dominating this game on both ends of the floor!"
Barkley nodded beside him and took over. "In the first half, both teams were evenly matched."
"But from the moment the second half began—when Kai Chen activated his scoring mode, when he started actively defending LeBron—the balance of the game had already tilted toward the Los Angeles Clippers."
"There's no denying LeBron James showed why he's still the best player in the league, but I'm sorry—tonight belongs to the Clippers. Tonight belongs to Kai Chen!"
The Lakers' sudden collapse was the direct result of falling into the trap the Clippers had prepared in advance.
And all of it stemmed from Kai Chen's overwhelming impact on both offense and defense.
By the time the Lakers realized what was happening, it was already too late.
A 22-point gap—not insurmountable in theory—but the Clippers controlled it with absolute authority.
Until the final buzzer, the Lakers never managed to cut the deficit back to single digits.
"Beep!"
As the head referee blew the final whistle, the Los Angeles Clippers secured their second straight road win, defeating the Lakers 126:110, a 16-point victory.
At the same time, they handed the Lakers their first two-game losing streak of the season.
"We were completely outplayed by the Los Angeles Clippers on both ends of the floor today," Walton admitted in the postgame interview.
"The Clippers executed their tactics extremely well, and Coach Rivers' in-game adjustments are something I can learn a lot from."
"This wasn't just a failure in player performance—it was also a complete loss for our coaching staff in terms of strategy."
"It's hard to imagine Kai Chen is just a rookie, and even harder to believe he was only the third overall pick."
LeBron, who was also interviewed after the game, was direct in his praise.
"Kai Chen is definitely the most outstanding rookie in this year's draft class."
"He has all the qualities needed to become a superstar."
"I'm proud of his performance in the NBA—but one day, I'll lock him up."
Ingram, interviewed as well, spoke with determination. "He may be a rookie, and the gap between us is obvious right now—but that gap can always be closed with hard work."
Though Ingram had been thoroughly outplayed by Kai Chen on both ends of the floor, he wasn't the type to give up.
"Keep going, Ingram!"
LeBron patted his shoulder in encouragement.
After the Lakers' interviews concluded, reporters turned their attention to the Clippers.
Coach Rivers once again showered Kai with praise.
After accepting Kai Chen's halftime suggestions, the team had looked completely reborn in the second half.
Because of that, Rivers was even more confident after the game, choosing every word carefully to promote Kai Chen.
"Kai is the team's primary core. He's the key player who led us to this victory."
"Before the season started, many media members and fans questioned whether Kai Chen should be given unlimited offensive freedom."
"To those people, I say—look at the report card he's delivered in these first two games."
"Kai never disappoints. Listen to the cheers from the Los Angeles fans right now—he deserves every bit of it!"
Rivers praised Kai Chen without holding anything back.
And the Clippers fans who hadn't yet left the Staples Center were more than happy to hear it.
With the general manager and head coach speaking so highly of him, how could the fans not show their support?
Cheers, shouts, and Kai Chen's name echoed throughout the entire arena.
The fans knew it clearly: Kai Chen was the answer they had been searching for.
And perhaps it wouldn't be long before the Clippers truly replaced the Lakers at the top of Los Angeles.
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