The Los Angeles Lakers were, predictably, slow out of the gate on Tuesday night.
Though the defending champions eventually played their way back into the contest at the Staples Center, it was too late.
The Clippers, who sprinted out to a 22-point lead, beat the Lakers 116-109 to officially kick off the 2020-21 season behind a stellar night from Paul George.
“I had a heck of an offseason coming into this year where I was able to train and get back on the floor and play basketball coming into the season,” George said on TNT after putting up 33 points on just 18 shots.