Dončić's Third Straight 40 Lifts Lakers as Clippers Fall in OT and Rams Lose Watson for Season

Luka Dončić scored 40 in a 116-103 win at Sacramento, Klay Thompson beat the Clippers 117-116 in overtime at Intuit Dome, and Sean McVay said Jaylen Watson needs season-ending shoulder surgery.

By Herald Staff · Nov. 5, 2026, 5:30 PM ET

The Intuit Dome in Inglewood at night, its red steel lattice and translucent panels glowing blue and white beneath an illuminated INTUIT DOME sign against a dark sky. — Intuit Dome in Inglewood in October 2024. The Clippers fell 117-116 in overtime to the Miami Heat there Wednesday night, their seventh straight loss. Photo: Haruhi8 (cropped) / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 (license).

One Los Angeles basketball team keeps stacking wins. The other cannot stop the bleeding. On Wednesday night, the Associated Press reported, Luka Dončić scored 40 points with nine rebounds and seven assists as the Lakers beat the Sacramento Kings 116-103 at Golden 1 Center. Hours earlier at Intuit Dome, Klay Thompson's corner three with a second left in overtime lifted the Miami Heat past the Clippers 117-116 and dropped Los Angeles to 1-7, the Associated Press wrote for CBS Sports. On the football side, the Rams confirmed that starting cornerback Jaylen Watson will miss the rest of the season after shoulder surgery, then reshuffled their roster Thursday.

Dončić's Sixth Straight 35-Plus Night

Dončić made six 3-pointers and 12 of 13 free throws in Sacramento, and he has now scored at least 35 points in six consecutive games — joining Kobe Bryant and Elgin Baylor as the only Lakers to do so, ESPN reported. It was also his third straight 40-point game. He had 23 points by halftime and finished the night with the Lakers' lead stretched as high as 18 before the final 116-103 margin.

Austin Reaves added 21 points, and Walker Kessler contributed 15 points, eight rebounds and four blocks, according to a Thursday roundup by MidValleySports.com. The win improved Los Angeles to 7-2 and made it four in a row, tying the Lakers for the most victories in the Western Conference early in the young season. Coach JJ Redick told ESPN it was "probably" the hottest stretch of basketball he can remember from Dončić.

The Kings fell to 1-7 despite another busy night from rookie Darius Acuff Jr., who finished with 22 points and 11 assists but went 8 of 24 from the field and did not score in the fourth quarter, NBC Sports Bay Area reported. Sacramento is opening a seven-game homestand after its first win of the year Monday against Dallas.

Clippers Blow a Big Lead, Fall in Overtime

In Inglewood, the Clippers built a 20-point cushion late in the second quarter and led 67-52 at halftime after outscoring Miami 43-19 in the second period, the AP account said. They could not close. Miami was still down 10 with 4½ minutes left in the fourth before a 9-0 run set up the overtime finish.

Darius Garland paced the Clippers with 26 points and seven assists. Rui Hachimura had 21 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, and Brook Lopez added 20 points and eight boards. Garland's floater put Los Angeles ahead 116-112 with 1:19 left in overtime, but Bam Adebayo scored inside to cut it to two, and the Clippers did not score again. Giannis Antetokounmpo grabbed a defensive rebound with 3.8 seconds left, and after a Heat timeout he found Thompson open in the left corner for the winner. Kobe Sanders' desperation heave at the buzzer missed.

Adebayo finished with season highs of 35 points and 10 rebounds. Thompson scored 30 on 8 of 17 shooting from three, and Antetokounmpo had 27 points, 14 rebounds and six assists. The loss was the Clippers' seventh in a row since their season-opening win over Sacramento on Oct. 21. Brandon Ingram (Achilles) and Bradley Beal (knee) have yet to play this season. Los Angeles hosts New Orleans on Sunday night to finish a three-game homestand.

Rams Lose Watson for the Year, Add Depth

At the Rams' facility in Woodland Hills, coach Sean McVay said Wednesday that Watson needs shoulder surgery and will be placed on season-ending injured reserve, the team announced. Watson reinjured the shoulder in Sunday's win over the Chargers at SoFi Stadium after originally dislocating it in Week 3, the Los Angeles Times reported.

"Bummer for him, and he's been such a stud for us," McVay said. "He wanted to be able to play through it, but just kind of understanding the totality of it all … that'll put him on IR for the year." Team doctors advised that the likelihood of further damage if he kept playing was high. Through eight weeks, Watson's 48.5 percent completion rate allowed as the nearest defender ranked fourth-lowest among players with at least 30 targets, the Rams said. McVay said more will be asked of Josh Wallace and Emmanuel Forbes Jr.

On the same day, Myles Garrett (knee) and tight end Terrance Ferguson (ankle) returned to practice as limited participants as their 21-day windows opened, and running back Ronnie Rivers (calf) also returned and is expected to be activated off injured reserve. On Thursday the club signed kicker Joshua Karty from the practice squad to the 53-man roster — joining Brandon McManus — and added former Rams cornerback David Long Jr. to the practice squad, Rams Wire reported.

Original reporting by The Los Angeles Herald, drawing on the Associated Press, ESPN, CBS Sports, NBC Sports Bay Area, the Los Angeles Times, therams.com and Rams Wire, as linked above.