The Los Angeles Clippers signed star forward Kawhi Leonard to a contract extension on Wednesday, with ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reporting the deal is worth $153million for three years.

Without announcing terms of the contract, Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank issued a statement saying "we're thrilled to continue our relationship with Kawhi.

"He is an elite player, a terrific partner and a relentless worker who knows how to win and makes it his first priority.

“He elevated our franchise from the moment he arrived. We feel fortunate that Kawhi chose to join the Clippers five years ago, and excited to keep building with him."

The 32-year-old Leonard declined his $48.8million player option for 2024-25 as part of the extension and is slated to earn $52million next season and roughly $50million in both 2025-26 and 2026-27.

Leonard signed with Los Angeles in July 2019 after leading the Toronto Raptors to their first NBA title.

He was named MVP of the 2019 NBA Finals, the second such honour of his career after guiding the San Antonio Spurs to the championship in 2013-14.

A five-time All-Star and two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Leonard leads the Clippers (23-13) this season with 23.8 points and 1.75 steals per game.

He is also tied for second on the team in rebounding (6.1) and ranks fourth with 3.4 assists per game.

LeBron James urged the Los Angeles Lakers to use their victory over the Los Angeles Clippers as a "catapult" towards an upturn in underwhelming NBA form.

The Lakers snapped a four-game losing streak with a 106-103 triumph over their Los Angeles neighbours on Sunday.

LeBron's Los Angeles were just 3-10 since winning the in-season tournament, with Sunday's win a much-needed victory to somewhat ease a 13-game struggle.

"Try to use this to try to catapult a little bit better play from us," LeBron said after leading the game with 25 points against the Clippers.

"But it still doesn't take away from the fact of how we've been playing like the last 11, 12 games.

"Tonight was a good start. Hopefully we can start from here and continue to build."

Lakers coach Darvin Ham benefitted from having an increasing number of rotation options, with the fit-again D'Angelo Russell managing 13 points and six assists, while Jarred Vanderbilt impressed in defense.

Christian Wood also added nine points, 10 rebounds and two blocks, along with Max Christie's seven points, three rebounds and two blocks, as the Lakers' bench outshone the Clippers.

"All those guys helped us win, made some big shots, timely plays, and that's what we need," said Anthony Davis, who had 22 points and 10 rebounds.

"It takes 'the others' to win championships and win basketball games. And these guys played phenomenal tonight. When these guys are playing well, it just makes me and Bron's job a lot easier."

Ham labelled the performance as a benchmark for the remainder of the season.

"Everybody contributed, competed at a very high level," Ham added. "And I'm proud of them.

"Now the cat's out the bag for this one, in terms of how we need to approach each and every game and everybody do it as a committee."

Tyrese Haliburton tallied 31 points and 12 assists and the Indiana Pacers erupted for 47 points in the third quarter to defeat the Milwaukee Bucks, 142-130 for their fifth straight win on Wednesday.

Bennedict Mathurin added 16 points and Obi Toppin and Bruce Brown each added 15 as Indiana beat Central-leading Milwaukee for the second time in three days and improved to 4-1 in the season series.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 26 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, while Damian Lillard had 23 points with five assists. Milwaukee has lost two straight for the first time since Nov. 9 and 11.

The Pacers entered the third quarter trailing 68-66 but went on a 21-6 run – capped by Haliburton’s 3-pointer – and opened a 113-97 lead after the period.

The Bucks couldn’t get closer than 10 points the rest of the way.

Surging Clippers cool Suns

Paul George scored 33 points and Kawhi Leonard added 30 as the Los Angeles Clippers won their fourth straight game, 131-122 over the Phoenix Suns.

James Harden had 22 points and 11 assists to help the Clippers improve to 13-2 in their last 15 games.

Devin Booker scored 35 points on 11-of-15 shooting and Bradley Beal added 21 but just 7 of 20 and missed all six of his 3-point attempts.

Kevin Durant missed his second straight game due to soreness in his right hamstring and the Suns had a four-game winning streak stopped.

Kings outlast Magic in double overtime

Malik Monk and Keegan Murray hit 3-pointers in the second overtime and the Sacramento Kings overcame a franchise-record 25 3-pointers by the Orlando Magic in a 138-135 win.

Monk finished with season highs of 37 points and seven 3-pointers and Murray had 31 points on 14-of-22 shooting with 11 rebounds. Domantas Sabonis notched his seventh triple-double of the season with 22 points, 23 rebounds and 12 assists.

Paolo Banchero scored a career-high 43 points with six 3-pointers to lead Orlando but missed a potential tying 3 at the final buzzer.

Jalen Suggs added 24 points, including six 3s, for the Magic.

Paul George and James Harden were relieved to see Kawhi Leonard return from a four-game absence and help the Los Angeles Clippers stay hot with a win over the Miami Heat.

Leonard scored 24 points to pass 13,000 for his NBA career as the Clippers won 121-104 against the short-handed Heat on Monday.

George added 23 points, Norman Powell had 22 on 9-of-11 shooting while James Harden scored 15 points and provided 10 assists to aid in the Clippers' third straight victory and 12th in 14 games. 

"You see the performance," Harden said about the return of Leonard, who had been sidelined by a hip contusion.

"Both ends of the ball, just elite. Shotmaking, defensively just being active, creating opportunities in transition. We needed that, for him to get well and get better. We missed him."

George feels Leonard adds so much more than his statistical production.

"He does all the little intangible stuff – it's just so reliable," said George.

"It's great to have 2 back in the lineup. He missed a little over a week and it was going to take a little time for him to catch his rhythm, but I thought he did and looked like himself."

Miami, playing without six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler and a few other key contributors due to injuries, held a 35-23 lead after one quarter and was up by as much as 14 points in the second before the Clippers began battling back.

Los Angeles outscored the Heat by a 32-17 margin over the final 9 1/2 minutes of the first half to take a 59-58 edge at the break. Leonard had 13 second-quarter points to spark the comeback and George then scored 12 points in the third as the Clippers extended their lead to 95-85 entering the fourth.

The Clippers have continued to find a way to win since their six-game losing streak in November.

"It is better when you try to figure it out winning than trying to figure out losing and that is what was happening earlier [in the season]," added Harden.

"Every single game, we are trying to find ways to win games. Then towards the end of the season we’ll understand what we’re really good at and what we are not."

Los Angeles is now 20-12 for the season, fourth in the Western Conference ahead of Wednesday's road game against the Phoenix Suns, who have won four straight games.

Bradley Beal scored 21 points as the surging Suns beat the Portland Trail Blazers 109-88, even with Kevin Durant sidelined by right hamstring tightness.

As for the Heat, they will stay in Los Angeles before playing the Lakers on Wednesday.

Bam Adebayo paced Miami with 21 points and 15 rebounds but the Heat have now dropped two straight following a four-game winning streak and are fifth in the Eastern Conference.

Julius Randle had 39 points and nine rebounds, OG Anunoby made a strong debut with his new team and the New York Knicks earned a 112-106 win over the Western Conference-leading Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday to end a three-game losing streak. 

Anunoby was traded to the Knicks from the Toronto Raptors on Saturday and met his new teammates for the first time on Sunday.

Despite needing some occasional help to navigate coach Tom Thibodeau’s system, Anunoby finished with 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting and pulled down six rebounds.

Randle finished 14 for 24 from the field and made nine of 13 free throws for New York, which trailed by nine points after one quarter before outscoring Minnesota by a 38-17 margin in the second to build a 61-49 half-time lead.

Anthony Edwards led the Timberwolves, who had a two-game winning streak halted, with 35 points. Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 29 for Minnesota, while Rudy Gobert grabbed 15 rebounds to go along with 10 points.

Bench propels Pacers as Bucks' home winning streak ends

Tyrese Haliburton finished just short of a triple-double as the Indiana Pacers put an end to the Milwaukee Bucks' 15-game home winning streak with a 122-113 victory over their Central Division rival.

Haliburton compiled 26 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds to lead Indiana, which trailed by 15 points late in the third quarter to tie the game at 101-101 with under six minutes left.

The Pacers then embarked on an 8-0 run, with T.J. McConnell scoring six points during the spurt, to take the lead for good. 

McConnell had 12 points in the fourth quarter to help the Pacers to a fourth straight win. He finished with 16 points off the bench, while Bennedict Mathurin had 25 along with a career-high 13 rebounds. 

With Mathurin and McConnell leading the way, Indiana's bench outscored Milwaukee's reserves by a 70-16 margin.

The Central-leading Bucks were dealt their first defeat at Fiserv Forum since Oct. 29 despite Giannis Antetokounmpo's 30-point, 18-rebound, 11-assist triple-double.

Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton had 21 points each for Milwaukee, though Bucks star guard Damian Lillard struggled with a 3-of-16 shooting night while being held to 13 points.

Leonard returns to help Clippers top Heat

Kawhi Leonard returned from a four-game absence to score 24 points and help the Los Angeles Clippers stay hot with a 121-104 win over the Miami Heat.

Paul George added 23 points and Norman Powell had 22 on 9-of-11 shooting to aid in the Clippers' third straight victory and 12th in 14 games. 

Miami, playing without six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler and a few other key contributors due to injuries, held a 35-23 lead after one quarter and was up by as much as 14 points in the second before the Clippers began battling back.

Los Angeles outscored the Heat by a 32-17 margin over the final 9 1/2 minutes of the first half to take a 59-58 edge at the break. Leonard, who had been sidelined by a hip contusion, had 13 second-quarter points to spark the comeback. 

George then scored 12 points in the third quarter as the Clippers extended their lead to 95-85 entering the fourth.

Bam Adebayo paced Miami with 21 points and 15 rebounds. The Heat have now dropped two straight following a four-game winning streak. 

 

Anthony Davis labelled Saturday's clash with the Oklahoma City Thunder as a "must win" for the skidding Los Angeles Lakers.

The Lakers lost for a fourth straight game as they went down 118-111 at the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday.

Their record since winning the NBA's inaugural in-season tournament is now 1-5.

And while there were green shoots of recovery against the Timberwolves, Davis knows the skid has to stop.

"It's the NBA season. There's going to be ups, there's going to be downs. Right now we're in that down period," said Davis, who finished with 31 points and eight rebounds.

"We've just got to continue to fight and continue to play hard. Play with some effort, some energy and we're treating Saturday as a must win.

"We've got to still buckle down and find ways to get wins.

"So after 30 [games], I think it's still tough to assess, but we know what we can be. We've shown what we can be. And we've shown that if we don't do the things we need to do to be successful then we're going to continue to be on this side of our record, which is losing."

The Lakers were without LeBron James, though the veteran is expected to be fit to face the Thunder, who are second in the Western Conference and beat the other Los Angeles team – the Clippers – on Thursday.

That snapped a nine-game winning streak for the Clippers, who lost 134-115.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points while Chet Holmgren nailed an innovative dunk off the backboard to propel the Thunder to a third straight win.

James Harden and Paul George chipped in with 23 points and 22 points respectively for the Clippers, who were without talisman Kawhi Leonard.

"Obviously, they’re a super talented group," Gilgeous-Alexander said of the Clippers. "A bunch Hall of Famers over there, and we knew what the task was waking up this morning."

Clippers coach Tyronn Lue acknowledged: "They did a good job of just attacking us.

"We couldn't get back, we couldn't get set, we couldn't get matched, and they took advantage of that early."

The Detroit Pistons suffered their 25th straight loss – one short of the NBA single season record – as Kelly Olynyk scored 25 points to lead the short-handed Utah Jazz to a 119-111 victory on Thursday.

Detroit missed nine of 10 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and was 9 of 31 overall from long range as it remained winless since Oct. 28.

The 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers and 2013-14 Philadelphia 76ers share the record at 26, which the Pistons will try to avoid Saturday in Brooklyn. The 76ers hold the overall mark of 28, a skid that started in 2014-15 and carried over into 2015-16.

Collin Sexton scored 19 points and Ochai Agbaji added 18 for the Jazz, who played without four of their top seven scorers – Lauri Markkanen, Jordan Clarkson, Keyonte George and Talen Horton-Tucker – on the second night of a back-to-back after losing at Cleveland on Wednesday.

Antetokounmpo propels Bucks to 6th straight win

Giannis Antetokoumpo tallied 37 points, 10 rebounds and six assists and the Milwaukee Bucks completed a perfect six-game homestand with a 118-114 win over the Orlando Magic.

Damian Lillard added 24 points and eight assists for the Bucks, who have won 15 straight games at Fiserv Forum. That’s the Bucks’ longest single-season home win streak since they opened 18-0 at home in 1991-92.

Franz Wagner scored 29 points and Paolo Banchero had 23 for the Magic, who have lost four in a row.

Thunder snap Clippers’ 9-game streak

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander poured in 31 points and Chet Holmgren gave the Thunder the lead for good with a dunk he threw off the backboard to himself, and Oklahoma City ended the Los Angeles Clippers’ nine-game winning streak, 134-115.

Holmgren’s flashy jam with 8:43 left in the third quarter gave the Thunder a 74-73 lead and sparked a decisive 13-0 run.

Holmgren finished with 23 points and Lu Dort added 21 for Oklahoma City, which has won three straight and five of six.

James Harden scored 23 points and Paul George had 22 for the Clippers, who played without leading scorer Kawhi Leonard due to a bruised right hip.

Anthony Davis knows there is "no help coming" for the Los Angeles Lakers, who must find a way to overturn their poor form.

The Lakers have won just one of their five games since they beat the Indiana Pacers to claim the inaugural NBA in-season tournament trophy in Las Vegas earlier this month.

Their latest defeat came on Wednesday at the hands of the Chicago Bulls, with DeMar DeRozan leading his team to a 124-108 triumph.

LeBron James had 25 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, but it was not enough as the Lakers slumped to a third straight loss.

"We all hate losing," said Davis, who finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds.

"There's no break coming. No help coming. There's no cavalry. We've got to do it within this locker room.

"We've got everyone back now. We've just got to find a way to get in the win column."

Without injured All-Star Zach LaVine, it was another accomplished display from the Bulls, who had a poor start to the campaign but are now hitting form.

"We were going through it," said DeRozan, who scored 27 points, adding seven rebounds and nine assists.

"Sometimes you've got to go through it so you can find a different type of motivation that you can come together with. The best relationships come out of that."

The Bulls are 7-3 in LaVine's absence due to right foot inflammation, though coach Billy Donovan still wants his talisman back healthy as soon as possible.

"Anytime you lose a really, really great player, and a talented, gifted player like Zach, it always hurts you. I'm certainly hopeful when he gets himself healthy he can get back to where he was," he said.

"I think with what he was dealing with his foot for a long period of time, I'm not so sure that he was ever right."

While the Lakers endure a skid, their city rivals the Los Angeles Clippers maintained their league-best form.

The Clippers extended their winning run to nine games as Kawhi Leonard's 30 points lifted them to a 120-111 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.

Luka Doncic recorded his sixth triple-double of the season but it was not enough for the Mavs, who fell foul of another fine Clippers display.

"It's going to take time for them to find the rhythm, find the continuity, find the chemistry," said Norman Powell, who scored 21 points off the Clippers' bench.

"It's no summer league, summertime pickup basketball where you're doing whatever you want.

"There's a system in place, and everybody's got to figure out their role and how it goes."

Rick Carlisle lamented an "ugly" performance from the Indiana Pacers after his team lost to the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Pacers went down 151-127 to the Clippers on Monday, suffering a fourth straight defeat.

Since losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in the final of the NBA's in-season tournament, Indiana have won just one game, with that victory coming against the struggling Detroit Pistons.

And Carlisle pointed to a mentality shift being required if the Pacers are to turn things around.

"Tonight was ugly. It's just something that's not acceptable," he said after the Clippers game.

"I don't care how talented they are, or anything else, we just allowed them to really do whatever they wanted to do. I've got to take responsibility for not having these guys ready to play.

"We've got a huge target on our back because of winning some games in the tournament. The Pacers aren't sneaking up on anybody.

"But our mindset, if it's shifted to just simply trying to outscore teams and away from any kind of emphasis defensively, that's got to stop. If it means massive lineup changes, then that's what will happen."

"We're missing some of our best defenders right now, that doesn't help. But it's not a valid excuse. We're making a lot of mistakes, and we just need to do it better and we need to do it harder."

Carlisle did, however, refuse to accept full responsibility for the slump, putting the onus on the Pacers' star players.

"Our best players have to understand and they have to believe that the little things are important," he added.

"That concentration and focus are extremely important. And so when the best players believe it, they preach it and it becomes gospel. It can't just be the coach."

Tyrese Haliburton, who managed just eight points, echoed Carlisle's sentiment, saying: "I think that we got to where we were by just playing harder than people. And we’re not doing that right now. So the switch has to flip here, pretty quick."

While the Pacers are on a skid, the Clippers are in fine form, having now won their last eight games. It is the team's longest winning streak since a 10-game run in the 2015-16 season.

Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and James Harden ran the Pacers ragged, with the latter scoring 18 of his game-leading 35 points in the fourth quarter.

"It was fun to watch," Leonard, who had 28 points, said of Harden's fourth-quarter charge.

"We're not trying to play the score. We're trying to win the quarters. And even if we have 20 points, we've still got to do our jobs and be efficient."

Harden, who also added nine assists, said: "We're playing very, very well right now, so we just have to stay consistent in what we do. Every game is a new challenge for us as a unit.

"We're figuring it out, we're coming together, our chemistry is building game by game. There's a long way to go but we're definitely headed in the right direction."

James Harden scored a season-high 35 points to lead the scorching Los Angeles Clippers to an eighth consecutive win with Monday's 151-127 blowout of the Indiana Pacers.

Kawhi Leonard added 28 points and Paul George had 27 as the Clippers' two other stars also had big nights to keep the league's hottest team rolling. Harden chipped in nine assists as well, while Ivica Zubac compiled an 18-point, 16-rebound double-double.

The Clippers took control with a 10-0 second-quarter run that gave them a 67-57 lead with under 3 1/2 minutes left in the first half, then headed into the break with a 77-66 advantage.

Los Angeles then outscored the Pacers by a 37-28 margin in the third quarter to stretch the margin further, and Harden ended any hopes of an Indiana comeback by putting up 21 points on 7-of-8 shooting in the fourth.

The Pacers lost their fourth straight game despite a career-high 34 points from Bennedict Mathurin. Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana's leading scorer for the season, dished out 11 assists but was held to eight points on 3-of-12 shooting. 

Nuggets blow out Mavericks in clash of West contenders

Jamal Murray scored 22 points, Aaron Gordon tied a season high with 21, and the Denver Nuggets cruised to a 130-104 win over the short-handed Dallas Mavericks in a showdown between two of the Western Conference's top teams.

The defending NBA champion Nuggets shot 56.3 per cent from the field and led from start to finish en route to a fourth victory in five games. Reggie Jackson delivered 20 points off the bench on 9-of-12 shooting, while Gordon finished 7 of 9 and Murray was perfect on four attempts from 3-point range.

Dallas got 38 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists from Luka Dončić, but couldn't overcome the absence of fellow star Kyrie Irving as well as key contributors Josh Green and Dereck Lively and lost for the second time in three games.

Gordon had 16 first-half points as the Nuggets took a 68-59 lead into the break, then extended their advantage to 20 points after a 10-0 run late in the third quarter put the Mavericks at a 94-74 deficit.

Denver then rested its entire starting lineup in the fourth quarter while building a lead as large as 36 points.

Bulls continue surge, snap 76ers' six-game winning streak

Coby White racked up 24 points, eight rebounds and nine assists as the Chicago Bulls continued their recent hot play and cooled off the Philadelphia 76ers with a 108-104 victory.

Chicago has now won six of its last nine games following a 5-14 start despite two-time All-Star Zach LaVine being sidelined by a foot injury. Nikola Vucevic had 23 points and eight rebounds for the Bulls, who had a 12-point lead after three quarters reduced to one late before holding on.

The 76ers had a six-game winning streak halted despite another huge performance from Joel Embiid, who totalled 40 points, 14 rebounds and six assists. 

Tyrese Maxey added 29 points and eight assists, but no other Philadelphia player managed more than eight points.

White had 16 first-half points as Chicago took a 55-44 lead into the break. Chicago was up 81-69 entering the fourth quarter before the 76ers rallied late to pull within 105-104 on a Maxey 3-pointer with 33.2 seconds left.

Embiid misfired on two shots afterward, though, and Chicago's DeMar DeRozan sealed the game by making three of four free throws in the final stages.

 

James Harden had 28 points and 15 assists and Kawhi Leonard added 27 points to send the Los Angeles Clippers to their sixth straight victory, 121-113 over the slumping Golden State Warriors on Thursday.

Harden, who also had seven rebounds, became the 24th player in NBA history to score 25,000 points on a driving layup late in the third quarter.

Norman Powell scored 10 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter for the Clippers, who played without Paul George but won for the 11th time in 14 games.

Klay Thompson scored a season-high 30 points with eight 3-pointers as Golden State went 0-3 on its road trip and has lost 12 of 16.

 

Reid, Towns lead Wolves past Mavericks

Naz Reid scored 19 of his season-high 27 points in the first half and the Minnesota Timberwolves overcame an early 15-point deficit in a 119-101 win over the Dallas Mavericks in a matchup of division leaders.

Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points and a season-best 17 rebounds for the Wolves, who have won seven of eight to tie Boston for the NBA’s best record (18-5).

Luka Dončić tallied 39 points and 13 assists, but Dallas had a four-game winning streak stopped. He scored at least 30 points for the ninth consecutive game, averaging 35.1 during that span.

 

Celtics continue home dominance

Jayson Tatum scored 27 points and Jaylen Brown added 22 as the Boston Celtics remained unbeaten at home with a 116-107 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Kristaps Porzingis had 18 points and Jrue Holiday contributed 14 to help the Eastern Conference-leading Celtics move to 12-0 at home this season.

The Cavaliers got 31 points from Donovan Mitchell and 26 from Caris LeVert in their third straight loss.

Boston’s lead was cut to three entering the fourth quarter, but Tatum sparked a quick spurt with a fadeaway and a 3-pointer to make it 101-91 with 8 ½ minutes left.

Tyronn Lue believes the Los Angeles Clippers are "trending in the right direction".

The Clippers overcame the Sacramento Kings 119-99 on Tuesday to make it five straight wins.

Lue's team have now won 10 of their last 13 games, since a six-game losing streak following James Harden's arrival in a big trade from the Philadelphia 76ers.

And Lue feels his team are starting to show just how much quality they have.

"The biggest thing for me is [the players are] just staying with it," Lue said.

"I think early on it was tough for us just trying to figure out how we wanted to play, trying to figure out rotations and all the different things and how James, Paul George, Kawhi [Leonard] and Russell [Westbrook] all play together.

"We still got a long way to go, but we're trending in the right direction. We're doing a lot of good things and we still just got to stay with it and continue to put in the work.

"It's just chemistry, playing together, getting clarity, knowing what to expect coming into games. I think that's what the biggest thing is.

"I know we had a rough start, but we’re just staying the course. I give our players credit just for every single day coming in, every shoot around, every practice, working to get better and trying to understand and find out how they can make each other better."

The Clippers did lose George to groin soreness, though they have Leonard in excellent form, as he took his points total over the last three games to 106.

"It's just chemistry, playing together, getting clarity, knowing what to expect coming into games," said Leonard.

"I think that's what the biggest thing is."

Kawhi Leonard impressed again as the Los Angeles Clippers won their fourth straight NBA game on Monday.

The Clippers held off the short-handed Portland Trail Blazers 132-127 to record their ninth win in their last 12 games, a nice recovery from their six-game losing streak at the start of November.

Leonard now has 75 points in his last two games after scoring a team-high 34 against Portland.

There were also key contributions from Paul George (20 points, eight rebounds and eight assists) and James Harden (20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists).

Portland – playing without Deandre Ayton and Malcolm Brogdon – suffered a fourth straight loss despite a career-high 38 points from Anfernee Simons.

Asked about Leonard, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said: "The biggest thing is health and finally getting his rhythm with PG and James starting."

Los Angeles had a 14-point lead late in the first quarter but ultimately had to work hard for the victory.

The Blazers twice held a one-point lead in the closing stages of the fourth quarter having hit a season-high 19 3-pointers in the game.

"I knew it was going to be a tough game for us," added Lue, whose team are now 12-10, eighth in the Western Conference.

"Defensively, we couldn't get stops. They scored every way."

The Clippers are immediately back in action on Tuesday at home against the Sacramento Kings (13-8) to complete a back-to-back.

Leonard had a season-high 41 points in their previous win against the Utah Jazz.

"Offensively the team is in a good rhythm and that is all I care about," Leonard said.

"The ball found me and I made shots. I have played a lot of minutes over the last few games but sometimes you have to. When your best players play longer, you’ll most likely get the win.

"It is about knowing what we are doing and having clarity, using our experience, not being complacent.

"There is still a lot we’re lacking. On defense we didn't play that well. They are a team with great defenders who can turn you over a lot so we were focused on screening hard."

Harden echoed Leonard's view that there is still plenty of work to do.

"We take what the defense gives us, figure it out and attack," he said.

"If you share the ball, you get good results, but it wasn’t as easy as we’d like it to be. We don't have the luxury of overlooking opponents."

After the Los Angeles Clippers fought back from 22 points down for an improbable win over the Golden State Warriors, James Harden said it must serve as a turning point in their difficult season.

The Clippers were staring at back-to-back losses to their neighbours at 70-48 down in the third quarter, just one day after suffering a 120-114 defeat against the same opponents at Chase Center.

However, the Clippers outscored the Warriors 65-42 the rest of the way, with Paul George sinking a decisive three-pointer in the final 10 seconds as they claimed a 113-112 victory.

The Clippers, who have alternated between defeat and victory in their last six games, are now 9-10 after a troubled start to 2023-24.

Former NBA MVP Harden believes he is now beginning to strike up an understanding with fellow stars George and Kawhi Leonard, and he hopes the Clippers can kick on from here.

"Wow, 22…. we don't want to keep going up and down," Harden said when he was made aware of the size of the Warriors' lead. 

"We want to be consistent. I told [George] and [Leonard] before the game, 'let's catch our rhythm'. Let's be good, like we're going to be later in the season. Let's start it now."

George finished with a game-high 25 points, also adding six rebounds and six assists, while Harden and Leonard finished with 21 and 20 points respectively.

"It's big," Leonard said of the win. "We've been trying to be consistent. 

"We are getting better, but very slowly… You know, with how things have been going, it feels great to pull out a win."

Ty Lue enthused "that's what it should look like" after the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Sacramento Kings 131-117 on Wednesday.

The Clippers have yet to fully gel since the arrival of James Harden in a blockbuster trade from the Philadelphia 76ers, but they bounced back from a loss to the Denver Nuggets in style.

Kawhi Leonard and Harden combined for 60 points, with the latter providing six assists, as the Clippers eased to a victory that took them 10th in the Western Conference.

"That's what it should look like, guys," Lue said. "That's what it should look like right there. Now, we've got to duplicate it again and again and again."

Harden finished with 26 points, and nailed five of his eight 3-pointer attempts.

"I think James just wanted to prove to y'all that he is James Harden. And so he can do that on a nightly basis," added Lue.

Harden said: "I live in the real world, where I control what I can control, focus on what I got to do every single day and that's all I can control."

One consistent performer so far for the Clippers has been Kawhi Leonard, who has played in all 17 games this season.

"I mean it was years trying to get through that wall," Leonard said.

"I've been dealing with this right knee injury for a while, since 2016-17, even going through the Raptors' [championship] run, that being my first year going so far [in the playoffs with knee issues], just put another toll on it.

"Now I feel good coming out of games and I don't feel anything. So just want to keep going and that's my goal is just to stay healthy and the rest will play itself out."

Next up for the Clippers is a meeting with the Golden State Warriors, who are one place below them in the West.

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