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March 9 (UPI) -- Anthony Davis and LeBron James together scored more than half of the Los Angeles Lakers' point total in a 112-103 win against the Los Angeles Clippers. Davis led the Lakers with 30 points, while James scored 28 points in the triumph Sunday at Staples Center in Los Angeles. Paul George scored a game-high 31 points for the Clippers. Kawhi Leonard scored 27 points, but had just two rebounds and zero assists in the loss.
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"Both teams have bigger aspirations than a regular-season win," James told reporters. "Both teams understand this is a process and want to continue to get better throughout the year.
"[We want to] put ourselves in position to be at full strength when the postseason comes around."
The Clippers led by nine points in the second quarter and held a 53-40 edge at halftime. Avery Bradley scored 12 points in the third frame to help the Lakers earn an 85-81 lead entering the fourth frame.
James scored 12 points down the stretch to help the Lakers hold on to the lead and end the Clippers' six-game winning streak.
"It was just them [the Lakers]," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. "They were the more physical team tonight. They were into their game plan more tonight. I thought they trusted each other more offensively. It was a good lesson for us."
James also had nine assists and seven rebounds in the win. Bradley netted 24 points for the Lakers. Leonard and George combined for 58 of their team's 103 points, but no other Clippers starter eclipsed five points in the loss.
The Lakers are now on a four-game winning streak and have 11 wins in their last 12 games.
"It wasn't really a good loss," Leonard said. "There are always things you can take away and learn from your losses. We have to watch film and see what happened and what we didn't do [correctly]."
The Clippers (43-20) face the Golden State Warriors at 10:30 p.m. EDT Tuesday at Chase Center in San Francisco. The Lakers (49-13) host the Brooklyn Nets at 10:30 p.m. EDT Tuesday in Los Angeles.
