Following two surprising losses against the Los Angeles Lakers to start this season, Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers got on the winning side with a 127-116 victory.
Leonard notched a triple-double, finishing with 25 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists on 11-of-16 shooting from the field. It was the second triple-double of Leonard's career, with the first coming in January 2021.
Six Clippers finished in double-figure scoring, including James Harden who had 23 points and 10 assists. Norman Powell, Terance Mann, and Paul George each scored 17 points while Russell Westbrook finished with 16.
“It was just based on my teammates making shots,” Kawhi Leonard said after the win. “They helped with that. Passing the ball, they knocked it down with confidence and me making shots early allowed them to throw two people at me and then just tried to make the right play from there.”
Leonard, Clippers win LA battle
LeBron James didn't play in the game due to left ankle peroneal tendinopathy, and is considered day-to-day moving forward, according to Lakers head coach Darvin Ham.
With James out of the lineup, the Lakers started Rui Hachimura in his place. They got great contributions from Anthony Davis, who had 26 points and 12 rebounds as well as D'Angelo Russell, who had 27 points and 10 assists. Jarred Vanderbilt, Austin Reaves, Taurean Prince, and Hachimura all reached double-figures in scoring as the Lakers made it a far more competitive game than it likely should've been.
“I mean it is a different dynamic with [LeBron] not being out there, but this is the NBA and you see guys came in and stepped up and made big shots for them and they stayed in the game pretty much the whole way,” Leonard said. “We've just got to be focused on games like this.”
“You just don't know what to expect out of a team,” George added. “They're just trying to make up for LeBron not being in or their number one option. So it is different preparing for a team like this.
The Lakers remained within striking distance despite trailing by as many as 16 points, and a layup by Prince got the them to within 110-108 with 7:32 remaining in the fourth quarter. Just as it appeared they were about to make a push for the lead, the Clippers put the clamps on and outscored the Lakers 17-8 over those final seven minutes.
“Everybody contributed to the win tonight, especially from behind your arc,” Leonard said. “[Russell Westbrook and Amir Coffey] were 3-of-3 and that's what we got to do. We got to knock down shots when they're open and tonight we did and just keep taking them.”
With the win, the Clippers improved to 28-14 on the season, just a game-and-a-half behind the Western Conference's No. 1 seed. The Clippers are also 19-4 at home, which is the second best mark behind the Boston Celtics' 20-1 home record.
The Clippers will now embark on a season-long seven-game, 12-day road trip that will start in Toronto, Canada this Friday night.
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