LOS ANGELES, CA — The Los Angeles Clippers had multiple opportunities in the first three quarters to come back against the Brooklyn Nets, but continued to look two or three steps behind. Enter Russell Westbrook and James Harden.

Coming off of a four-day break, the Clippers trailed Sunday's matinee game against the Nets by as many as 18 points, and led for the first 45 minutes and 10 seconds of the game. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George struggled, but it was Westbrook, Harden, and Terance Mann who carried the Clippers offensively for most of the night until the star forward duo found their footing.

Russell Westbrook finished Sunday's game with a 23 points, nine rebounds, and six assists on 10-of-16 shooting from the field in 31 minutes off the Clippers bench. It was his second-highest scoring game of the season and most he's scored off the bench.

James Harden scored a game-high 24 points to go along with five rebounds, 10 assists, and two steals. It was the 11th double-double and fourth 20-point, 10-assist game of the season for Harden. Kawhi Leonard finished with 21 points on 6-of-15 shooting from the field, but had 14 points in the fourth quarter on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting. Paul George finished with 17 points on 5-of-17 shooting.

The Clippers started the game down 16-0 until Terance Mann knocked down back-to-back threes. He finished with 13 points on the night, including nine big ones in the opening period to weather the storm.

It appeared as though, throughout the game, the Clippers were playing with the right spirit, but just didn't have enough to get over the hump. Multiple runs were answered by Brooklyn, who saw Mikal Bridges score 26 points and Cam Thomas pour in 20 points off the bench.

“I think the game sometimes — you come into the game with a game plan, and then it kind of switches based on how they defend,” Russell Westbrook said. “They do a good job of switching defense and mucking the game up. They got a lot of guys that are similar size. But the unique part about our team is that we have the same type of guys on both sides, and it allows us to be able kind of read the lane.”

LA entered the fourth trailing 99-84 and proceeded to outscore the Nets 41-15, including a 22-0 run over the final 5:18 of the game to close out Brooklyn and, somehow, come away with a win.

“[I haven't been a part of a game like that] in a while,” added Russell Westbrook. “But definitely super gracious and blessed to be able to be a part of such a great group and having the opportunity to be able to make runs. It shows diversity, the resiliency of our team. And tonight was one of those. Well, this afternoon was one of those games where it showed, especially after a long break and against a team that's been playing well. So I'm happy, the way our guys came out and competed.”

In the fourth quarter alone, Kawhi Leonard scored 14 points, James Harden scored eight, Norman Powell added seven, while Russell Westbrook had five points, four rebounds, and three assists in the period.

Entering the game, the quartet of Westbrook, Harden, George, and Leonard had struggled, being outscored by 40 points in the 118 minutes they've shared the floor across 13 games. On Sunday, the four played the final 5:58 together with Norman Powell and were a +20.

“Just staying with it,” Tyronn Lue said of the ugly contest that turned in their favor. “We didn’t play our best game. PG and Kawhi struggled tonight from the field. James carried the load, I thought, early in that third quarter. I thought Russ was really good off the bench. Norm made a huge three. A total team win. Down 16-0, T-Mann makes two big threes to make it 16-6 and then a 3-point play, so everyone contributed. Amir made a big three. When your big dogs are struggling a little bit, it’s good to see other guys step up and play well. But in that fourth quarter, defensively we were just on a whole ‘nother level.”

Through three quarters, Paul George (nine) and Kawhi Leonard (seven) combined for just 16 points on 6-of-25 shooting. Russell Westbrook (18) and James Harden (16) were the team's leading scorers, providing the much-needed offense and energy to keep the Clippers in the game.

“That’s what I’m here for,” James Harden said. “Finding ways to impact the game and when we’re kind of down and don’t got things going or things seem like they’re not in our favor just finding the ways to put it in our favor. Scoring the basketball gave us a little bit of momentum and just kept telling ourselves, ‘get it under 10, get it under 10,' and our defense hit that switch. After that we all got it going.”

“It's my job,” Westbrook explained. “Energy is a big part of my game and what I can bring to this team every night. We have slow starts, which is going to happen throughout an 82-game season. And tonight I tried to use my energy to be able to make an impact on the game, whether it's offensively, defensively, whatever is needed for our team.”

The Clippers improved 27-14 on the season, placing them fourth in the West right behind the Denver Nuggets. They also moved to 18-4 at home this season, which is the fourth best mark in the league right now.

Up next: LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night. After an 11-game winning streak against their cross-town rivals, the Clippers have dropped two straight against them to open up the season-series.