The Clippers proved themselves the kings of Los Angeles by completing a season sweep over the Lakers for the first time in five years with a crushing 118-94 win at Staples Center on Thursday night.

The win lifted the Clippers (45-22) past Denver into third place in the Western Conference behind only Utah and Phoenix, while slumping defending champions the Lakers (37-29) have fallen to sixth.

The injury-plagued Lakers have now lost seven of their last nine games with six games remaining in the regular season and could potentially face the Clippers again in the first round of the playoffs.

They were without LeBron James (ankle sprain) on Thursday and lost fellow superstar Anthony Davis to a tweaked ankle early as the Clippers steamrolled them.

The only thing they've clinched so far is a spot in the new play-in tournament, which James has derided.

"We don't look at it as something bad," Davis said of the play-in format. "We need games to get back accustomed to each other anyway. We don't want to go that route, but if it happens, it happens.

"When we're 100 per cent healthy we are the top team in the league, so we keep that in our minds."

All five starters for the Clippers finished in double figures. Paul George led with 24 points and seven rebounds. Kawhi Leonard totaled 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Ivica Zubac added 14 points and eight rebounds. Marcus Morris Sr. and Reggie Jackson had 10 points apiece.

In Dallas, Luka Doncic scored 24 points and had 10 rebounds and eight assists while Tim Hardaway Jr. added 23 points as their Dallas Mavericks beat Brooklyn 113-109, completing a season sweep of the Nets.

Kyrie Irving scored a season-high 45 points for the Nets, who lost a season-high fourth straight game and dropped two games behind the Eastern Conference-leading Philadelphia 76ers.

Kevin Durant had 20 points and nine rebounds for the Nets but was just one of 10 from the field in the second half

Dallas (38-28) are a game ahead of the Lakers and Portland (both 37-29) after the Lakers loss to the Clippers. One of the three teams will be forced into the play-in tournament as the No.7 seed.

Bradley Beal scored 14 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter and overtime and Russell Westbrook had his 34th triple-double of the season in the Washington Wizards' 131-129 win over Toronto that all but eliminated the Raptors from the play-in tournament.

Pascal Siakam matched his career high with 44 points for the Raptors, who lost for the fifth time in six games and fell four games behind the Wizards for the 10th spot in the Eastern Conference with five left to play.

Wayne Ellington and Cory Joseph scored 18 points apiece to help the Detroit Pistons snap a four-game losing streak with a 111-97 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Grizzlies dropped a half-game behind Golden State for eighth place in the Western Conference.

Caris LeVert scored 31 points, including nine in the final 2:17 as the Indiana Pacers awoke from a recent slump with a 133-126 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.

Stephen Curry had 34 points and seven assists to help the Golden State Warriors race past the Oklahoma City Thunder 118-97.

Australian Associated Press