Ricky Rubio has rejoined Barcelona having left Cleveland Cavaliers in January after revealing he had been suffering from mental ill health.

The 33-year-old Spaniard won the Liga ACB and the EuroLeague in his previous stint at Barca, before moving to the NBA and featuring for Minnesota Timberwolves, Utah Jazz, Phoenix Suns and the Cavaliers.

He announced he was retiring from the NBA in January and was open about his mental health battles.

Now Rubio has returned to Barcelona until the end of the season, with the club confirming his return to action will come when the point guard feels ready.

“FC Barcelona and Ricky Rubio have reached an agreement for the Catalan guard to join the club until the end of the season,” a statement read.

“This agreement depends on the player’s progress as he finds himself in the final stages of his recovery.

“Barca have registered the player in the ACB and Euroleague after he underwent the usual medical tests at the Ciutat Esportiva and the Hospital de Barcelona.

“Ricky Rubio’s return to competition will come when the player himself decides the time is right.”

LeBron James says he loves the players in the current Los Angeles Lakers locker room as speculation about roster changes swirls ahead of Thursday's trade deadline.

The Lakers won 124-118 against the short-handed Charlotte Hornets on Monday, with their third straight victory marking their best run since winning the NBA Cup in Las Vegas.

There is still much debate over how different Los Angeles' team will look by the time it takes to the court at home to the Denver Nuggets on Thursday.

D'Angelo Russell is one of the players mentioned in trade talks and he led the team with 28 points and six assists in Charlotte.

Anthony Davis had his third career triple-double with 26 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists, while LeBron had 26 points on 12-for-22 shooting.

LeBron was asked after the game whether the current roster was good enough to win a championship or if he felt changes should be made.

"It's not a question for me," he said, per ESPN. "I love who we have in the locker room and that's all I worry about.

"We are going to go out and prepare ourselves every single night no matter what it is, no matter who's out there on this team. No matter what.

"This is who we have, so there's nothing else to talk about."

Russell is also completely blocking out the speculation after producing an impressive run of performances. The Lakers are 10-6 since he returned from injury in January.

"Show up to work," he said about how he was coping with the trade debates. "That's it. Just play. You can't control that. I don't care at all [about trade speculation].

"Obviously I've been here before, I played for the Lakers before, so I know what the requirements are to be successful here are. 

"So, if you're part of the future here you'll be successful. If you're not, you'll get traded. And I've been traded before here. So, my approach is just a little different.

"I really just genuinely, humbly don't care because I know I can't control it, one. And, two, I just won't allow my mind to go there. 

"I like to focus on this and you can see how I've been focusing on basketball and not comments and what's trending on social."

Miles Bridges produced a career-high 41 points and rookie Brandon Miller scored 33 points for the Hornets, but it was not enough to prevent them from suffering their eighth straight loss since trading Terry Rozier.

The Lakers are 27-25, ninth in the Western Conference, and would need to improve to at least sixth to avoid the play-in tournament.

After going 4-2 on their six-game road trip, Los Angeles now has three straight home games against Denver, New Orleans and Detroit.

"When we put our minds to it, we can beat any team in this league," added Davis.

"We lost two we felt like we should have won, and we won two that the people in Nevada thought we should lose. When we buckle down defensively and play the right way we are a tough team to beat."

Donovan Mitchell scored 29 points and led a torrid shooting performance from 3-point range that carried the Cleveland Cavaliers to a sixth consecutive win, a 136-110 rout of the Sacramento Kings on Monday. 

Cleveland rolled to its 14th victory in 15 games by going 23 of 41 (56.1 percent) from beyond the arc. Mitchell finished 5 of 11 on 3-point tries and Max Strus was 6 for 10 while adding 22 points.

The Kings got 12 points, 19 rebounds and 15 assists from Domantas Sabonis - his 15th triple-double of the season - but couldn't match the Cavaliers' prolific perimeter shooting as Cleveland began pulling away early in the second quarter.

Cleveland scored five straight points to stretch its lead to 46-36 less than two minutes into the second quarter and went into the half owning a comfortable 74-59 advantage behind Mitchell's 19 points.

The Cavaliers remained up by double digits the rest of the way, with their lead expanding to as many as 29 points late.

Harrison Barnes led Sacramento with 22 points while finishing 6 of 10 from 3-point range. The Kings closed out a seven-game road trip in which they had won five of their first six outings and six of seven overall coming into Monday's clash.

Irving, Doncic lead Mavericks past ailing 76ers

Kyrie Irving and Luka Dončić combined for 42 points in the duo's first appearance together in two weeks to propel the Dallas Mavericks to a 118-102 win over the staggering Philadelphia 76ers.

Irving racked up 23 points on 10-of-17 shooting to go along with eight assists in his return from a six-game absence caused by a sprained right thumb. Doncic had 19 points and eight assists to help Dallas end a two-game skid and deal the ailing 76ers their sixth loss in seven games.

It was just the 23rd time in the Mavericks' 50 games this season they had a healthy Irving and Doncic together in the lineup.

Playing their third straight game without reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid, who will undergo left knee surgery and is out indefinitely, the Sixers received 19 points from Kelly Oubre Jr. and 17 from Tobias Harris.

All-Star Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia's second-leading scorer behind Embiid, had 15 points but was just 6 of 16 from the field.

The 76ers did manage to lead 33-26 after one quarter and 57-53 at the half, but Doncic hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 3:57 left in the third quarter to spark an 8-2 run that gave the Mavericks a 77-72 edge near the end of the period.

Dallas then dominated the fourth quarter, outscoring the 76ers by a 41-28 margin with its bench providing most of the offence, as reserves Jaden Hardy and Grant Williams each recorded 10 points in the final 12 minutes. 

Leonard's 36 points help Clippers cap trip with win over Hawks

Kawhi Leonard scored 13 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter as the Los Angeles Clippers outlasted the Atlanta Hawks and completed a successful road trip with a 149-144 victory.

James Harden added 30 points and 10 assists as he and Leonard powered Los Angeles to a ninth win in 10 games. The Clippers went 6-1 on an 11-day trek away from Crypto.com Arena while the venue hosted the Grammy Awards. 

In a fast-paced fourth quarter that saw both teams combine for 90 points, the Clippers outscored Atlanta by a 21-10 margin over a late stretch to move ahead for good.

Leonard began the run with a putback of his own miss that gave Los Angeles a 124-123 lead with 4:52 left, and Harden capped it when he was fouled after hitting a 26-foot jumper with 1:06 to go. He made the free throw to complete the 4-point play and extend the margin to 143-133.

The Hawks put forth a late rally and got to within 147-144 on Bogdan Bogdanović's 3-pointer with 26.7 seconds remaining, but Harden sunk two free throws on the ensuing possession to keep Atlanta at bay.

De'Andre Hunter had 27 points and seven rebounds off the bench to lead Atlanta, which had a four-game winning streak snapped. Trae Young finished with 25 points and 12 assists in the loss. 

Tyronn Lue and Kawhi Leonard both hailed the Los Angeles Clippers' mindset after a hard-fought 103-95 win over the Miami Heat.

The Clippers won for an eighth time in nine games as they moved to 33-15, and kept hold of third place in a fiercely contested Western Conference.

Leonard's double-double of 25 points and 11 rebounds led the Clippers, while James Harden contributed 21 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds.

"It's just having that mindset that we're going to try to win every game," Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said as his team improved to 25-5 since the start of December.

"I give guys credit. They've been doing that. We have a lot of talent.

"We have a lot of guys willing to sacrifice to do whatever it takes to win, and that's what we did."

Leonard suggested the Clippers were not at their very best, but still managed to get the job done.

"You get those mental blocks at this stage but we've been staying afloat," he said.

"Appreciate everybody coming out and playing and staying locked-in. Those are the things that I'm happy about."

The Heat, meanwhile, have lost eight of their last 10 outings. They have scored less than 100 points on 12 occasions this season.

"We have to figure out how to make it flow," Bam Adebayo said. "You have to make it flow or it's not going to work. We've been in worse situations."

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra added: "There are some things offensively you can do with better pace and better intention.

"That's not exclusive to us. And we'll work on that and we'll get better."

The Denver Nuggets must be at their best from the first minute as they aim to defend their NBA title, so says Jamal Murray.

Denver, led by the imperious Nikola Jokic (29 points, eight rebounds, seven assists) overturned a double-digit deficit to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 112-103 on Sunday.

The reigning NBA champions are fourth in a competitive Western Conference, in which three of the top four teams are all on 35 wins.

However, Murray, who chipped in with 21 points and 10 assists, wants to see the Nuggets sharpen up from the off, and not have to work their way back into games as often.

"I think we should just be a little bit more on point to start the game, not to have to kick it into another gear," Murray said.

"I think we've just got to be a little more conscious, a little more aware of the task at hand each and every night that we're going to get their best shot.

"We can give our best shot, as well, from the start."

It was a sentiment echoed by coach Michael Malone, who pointed out his team's defensive improvement throughout the game.

"Our defense got better as the game went along," Malone said.

"We had zero defense. We had a little bit of defense. We got a lot more defense. And we had great defense."

While the Trail Blazers sit next to last in the West, with a 15-35 record, Anfernee Simons - who contributed 26 points to their total - took plenty of positives.

"I thought we played well for the majority of the game, all the game, to be honest with you," Simons said.

"They're a good team. They made runs. They’re a championship team. They're a veteran team.

"We rolled out with a lot of young guys and sometimes that's just what happens.

"So, I'm just glad that we stuck with it and continued to play hard. Overall, I'm pretty happy about how we played today."

Bradley Beal delivered his best game with his new team in his first encounter with his old one.

Beal poured in a season-high 43 points to lead the visiting Phoenix Suns to a 140-112 blowout of the Washington Wizards on Sunday in the three-time All-Star's return to the arena he called home for 11 seasons.

The veteran guard was facing the rebuilding Wizards for the first time since being traded by Washington to the Suns in June. Beal missed the Suns' win over the Wizards in Phoenix in December due to a sprained ankle.

Beal was selected by the Wizards with the third overall pick in the 2012 draft and ranks second in franchise history in points and third in games played.

The 30-year-old had 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting in the first quarter to help stake Phoenix to an early 42-28 lead, then added 12 more in the second as the Suns opened up a commanding 79-58 advantage at half-time.

Phoenix's lead never got to under 19 points in the second half as it coasted to its 10th win in 13 games. The Suns also received 18 points each from Kevin Durant and Jusuf Nurkic, who added 13 rebounds and eight assists. 

Deni Avdija had 24 points on 10-of-13 shooting to lead Washington, which lost its third straight game to drop to 9-40 on the season.

Jazz beat Bucks behind dominant fourth quarter

Lauri Markkanen led a balanced Utah attack with 21 points and the Jazz dominated the fourth quarter to rally for a 123-108 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

Utah trailed by 16 points late in the third quarter before outscoring Milwaukee by a whopping 40-13 margin in the fourth to halt a three-game losing streak and drop the Bucks to 1-3 since head coach Doc Rivers took over the team last week.

Playing for the second time in as many nights, Milwaukee ran out of gas in the final period as it missed 13 of 17 field-goal attempts in the fourth quarter. The Jazz, meanwhile, shot 60 per cent over the final 12 minutes.

Keyonte George had 10 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter and was one of seven Utah players to score in double figures. The rookie added 10 rebounds, while John Collins also posted a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Down 95-83 after three quarters, the Jazz began the fourth on a 21-7 run to take a 104-102 lead on Markkanen's 3-pointer with 6:26 left. They put the game away soon afterward with an 18-3 flurry that staked Utah to a 122-108 advantage with under two minutes to go. George had eight points during that spurt.

The Bucks lost despite a 33-point, 13-assist effort from Giannis Antetokounmpo and a 27-point performance from Bobby Portis.

Clippers stay hot by extending Heat's woes

Kawhi Leonard had 25 points and 11 rebounds and the Los Angeles Clippers pulled away late to hand the still-slumping Miami Heat a 103-95 loss.

James Harden scored 11 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter and finished with 11 assists as the red-hot Clippers won for the eighth time in nine games. Los Angeles is an NBA-best 25-5 since Dec. 1.

After breaking out of a seven-game losing streak by winning their previous two games, the Heat struggled to an 8-for-30 shooting effort from 3-point range on a night they were without one of their best outside shooters in Tyler Herro, who was scratched due to a headache.

The Clippers, meanwhile, went 16 of 39 (41 per cent) from beyond the arc with Harden leading the way by hitting five of his nine 3-point tries.

Despite its shooting woes, Miami held a 72-71 edge with nine minutes left before the Clippers took control. Los Angeles broke open the game with a 20-6 run, capped by back-to-back Harden 3-pointers, to take a 91-78 lead with five minutes remaining.

The Heat fought back and got to within 99-95 on Jimmy Butler's 3-point play with 13.3 seconds left, but Paul George and Leonard each made two free throws in the closing stages to end any comeback hopes. 

Butler had 21 points and Terry Rozier scored 17 for Miami, which also received 14 points and 13 rebounds from Bam Adebayo.

Joel Embiid's availability for the remainder of this season is in question after the Philadelphia 76ers announced Sunday that the reigning NBA MVP will undergo surgery to repair a meniscus injury to his left knee.

The Athletic reported Saturday that Embiid suffered a displaced flap in his meniscus when he was injured in the 76ers' 119-107 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday.

The typical recovery time for such an injury is usually several months, meaning Philadelphia may need a deep run in the playoffs for their superstar center to return this season.

That doesn't seem likely given the Sixers' struggles when Embiid hasn't been available. Philadelphia is 26-8 when Embiid has played this season but 4-10 in games he has missed.

The injury also makes it all but certain that Embiid, who leads the NBA in scoring at 35.3 points per game, will not capture a second consecutive MVP award. Under terms of the NBA's new collective bargaining agreement, players must appear in a minimum of 65 regular-season games to be eligible for honours such as the MVP or All-NBA teams.

Philadelphia currently sits in fifth place in the Eastern Conference with a 30-18 record and trails the rival Boston Celtics by seven games in the race for the No. 1 seed.

The NBA's scoring champion in each of the previous two seasons, Embiid finished second to Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić in NBA MVP voting in both 2020-21 and 2021-22 before claiming the award last season after averaging 33.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 66 games and leading the Sixers to the third-best record in the East.

Embiid was putting up even better numbers when healthy in 2023-24, as his scoring and assist (5.7) averages were both career highs and his 11.3 rebounds per game ranks sixth among qualified players.

The 29-year-old has also often been beset by injuries since being selected by Philadelphia with the third overall pick of the 2014 draft. Embiid missed the entire 2014-15 and 2015-16 campaigns recovering from a broken foot and was limited to 31 games the following season due to a left knee injury. He has never played in more than 68 games in a regular season.

Paul Reed, who's averaged 11.2 points and 6.8 rebounds per game as a starter this season, will take over as the 76ers' primary center for the time being. Philadelphia may look for additional help prior to Thursday's league trade deadline. 

The Chicago Bulls will be without Zach LaVine for the rest of the campaign.

LaVine, who has had a stop-start season, will undergo surgery on a foot issue next week.

Bulls coach Billy Donovan confirmed on Saturday that LaVine, who has not played since mid-January due to an ankle sprain, had elected to go under the knife and will miss between four and six months.

"He made a decision he felt was best for his health," Donovan said.

"I really feel like he did everything he could to try to get himself back to playing.

"The discomfort in his foot was at a place where I think he didn't feel like he had any chance to be himself. That was the really frustrating part of it.

"He's kind of been in and out, but certainly you'd like to have a player of his calibre available.

"Now with the news coming out we'll have to play without him. I've always said when you lose really good players, it impacts your team."

Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers is less than impressed after Saturday's win over the Dallas Mavericks meant he is set to coach in the All-Star game.

Rivers picked up his first win as Bucks coach as Giannis' Antetokounmpo's 48 points inspired Milwaukee to a 129-117 comeback victory, while Damian Lillard had 30 points on 10-of-11 shooting.

Yet that victory means the Bucks' coach is now obligated to take charge of the Eastern Conference team in the All-Star game on February 18.

That is because Joe Mazzulla, the Boston Celtics coach, is ineligible after coaching in the All-Star game last year. Given the Bucks have the second-best record in the East two weeks before the event, the task will fall to Rivers.

But after just three games in charge of his new team, Rivers – who replaced Adrian Griffin last month – was far from impressed with that outcome.

"It's ridiculously bad. It really is," Rivers said.

"Well, Adrian's going to get some money, that's for sure. And a ring. It's one of those quirky things.

"I think there should be a rule somehow that someone else does it, other than me. Maybe I'll send my staff, and I'll go on vacation.

"I'll run that by Adam Silver. Adam's a good man, I think he'll understand."

Luka Doncic finished with 40 points for the Mavericks, who lost a second straight game.

"Looking at what Milwaukee did, they just kept playing and took our best shot there in the first half and then ended the half on a positive with Dame making that three at the buzzer," Dallas coach Jason Kidd said. "We didn't take care of the ball."

Stephen Curry was left frustrated after having no win to show for his 60-point haul in the Golden State Warriors' loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

Curry scored a season-high 60 points, while recording six rebounds and four assists, but the Warriors went down 141-134 in overtime on Saturday.

The Warriors are now 21-25 for the season, and 12th in the Western Conference.

Having fallen just two shy of his career-best 62 points, Curry became the 10th player in NBA history to register multiple 60-point games.

Yet the four-time champion was left with a sour taste in his mouth after watching Trae Young lead the Hawks to a fourth straight win with his 35 points.

"It sucks to not have something to show for it," Curry said.

"It's frustrating, obviously, not coming away with the win knowing a couple plays here, a couple plays there could have been a different outcome. It just adds to our frustrating season."

Draymond Green chipped in with seven points, six rebounds and eight assists for the Warriors, and despite the result, he was delighted to see Curry shine.

"It just seems he continues to get better, which is special at his age," Green said of Curry, while coach Steve Kerr added: "We competed like crazy but just couldn't get over the hump."

Young and Curry embraced on the court after the game, with the latter offering some advice to the Hawks star, who is averaging 27.3 points per game but missed out on an All-Star pick.

"I told him after the game it will all come back to him if he continues to approach the game in the right way," said Curry.

Stephen Curry scored 60 points for the second-most in his career and made 10 3-pointers, but the Atlanta Hawks started fast in overtime in a 141-134 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Saturday.

Curry had eight points in overtime to notch the second 60-point game of his career, falling two points shy of matching his career high set against Portland on Jan. 3, 2021. He was 22 of 38 from the field, 10 of 23 from long range, and made all six free throws.

Dejounte Murray scored the last seven points in an 11-0 run to open overtime for the Hawks and finished with 19 points.

Curry’s second 3 of overtime drew Golden State within 136-131 with 67 seconds to play but Trae Young hit a floater and Jalen Johnson’s layup with 20 seconds left sealed the win.

Young scored 35 points with seven 3-pointers, and Onyeka Okongwu added a career-high 22 points and a season-best 16 rebounds for Atlanta, which has won a season high-tying four straight.

Lakers snap Knicks’ 9-game streak

LeBron James scored 24 points and the Los Angeles Lakers pulled away down the stretch for a 113-105 victory to end the New York Knicks’ nine-game winning streak.

Austin Reaves had 22 points, D’Angelo Russell and Taurean Prince each scored 16 and Anthony Davis added 12 with 18 rebounds.

It was the second straight impressive road win for the Lakers after their 114-105 victory at NBA-leading Boston on Thursday.

Jalen Brunson poured in 36 points and Donte DiVincenzo added 26 before fouling out. The Knicks were done in by a nearly seven-minute scoreless stretch in the fourth quarter, as the Lakers turned a 96-94 deficit into a 105-96 lead.

Antetokounmpo outduels Doncic in Bucks’ win

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 48 points and the Milwaukee Bucks rallied from a 25-point deficit for their first win under coach Doc Rivers, 129-117 over the Dallas Mavericks.

Antetokounmpo shot 20 of 28 from the field to go with 10 assists and six rebounds as Milwaukee avoided a season-high third straight loss.

The Bucks, who lost their first two games under Rivers, started the rally with a 15-0 run in the final two minutes of the first half to get within five.

Damian Lillard added 30 points on 10-of-11 shooting and hit all five 3-point attempts.

Luka Dončić had 40 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists to fall just shy of his 10th triple-double of the season.

Maxi Kleber scored 21 points and Josh Green had 20 with nine rebounds for Dallas, which had its biggest blown lead in a loss this season and dropped to 2-6 in its last eight games.

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid has been diagnosed with a displaced flap of the meniscus in his left knee and could undergo surgery, The Athletic reported on Saturday.

Another option for the reigning NBA MVP would be to rest and rehab the injury instead of having a procedure on the knee.

Embiid was injured in the 76ers' loss to the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday in his first game back after missing two contests due to an issue with his left knee.

Embiid is the NBA’s leading scorer with 35.3 points per game and is averaging 11.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists in 34 appearances.

He had a franchise-record 70 points to go along with 18 rebounds on Jan. 22 against the San Antonio Spurs.

Michael Malone was left to ponder what life was like for the Denver Nuggets prior to Nikola Jokic's presence after another star turn from the two-time NBA MVP.

Having sat out Wednesday's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Jokic returned to action in style in a 120-108 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Jokic finished with 27 points, 22 rebounds and 12 assists for his 15th triple-double of the season.

"What life was like before Nikola got here," Denver coach Malone asked afterwards.

"I think people don't do that. They're like 'It's always been like this.' No it wasn’t. No it wasn't. Don't do that. Don't lie to yourself.

“We have been spoilt and I'm sure some of us do find ourselves maybe taking it for granted.

"But just remind yourself that not many guys like Nikola Jokic walk through those doors. Appreciate every opportunity that you have to watch him play."

Friday's game was the Nuggets' 50th of the season, with the reigning NBA champions recording a 34-16 record, exactly the same as they had at the same stage last season.

"I like that we are still playing with the same effort," said Jokic, who is averaging 26.3 points per game.

"It's not like we won a championship and now we're going to go easy. I like that we still want to compete and we still want to be better."

LeBron James' immediate future with the Los Angeles Lakers is in no doubt, so says the superstar's agent.

There had been speculation that James, 39, could leave the Lakers ahead of next week's trade deadline.

But his agent Rich Paul insisted that those rumours are wide of the mark.

"LeBron won't be traded, and we aren't asking to be," Paul told ESPN.

James missed the Lakers' win over the Boston Celtics on Thursday due to injury. He posted an hourglass emoji on social media following a loss to the Atlanta Hawks, which only increased the speculation over his future.

The four-time NBA champion has a $51.4 million player option in his Lakers contract for next season.

Russell Westbrook is "so grateful" to be on the Los Angeles Clippers team after he tallied up 25,000 NBA points.

Westbrook became the fourth active player in the NBA, and the 25th player overall, to hit the 25,000 milestone when he nailed a running layup with 2:44 left during Friday's 136-125 win over the Detroit Pistons.

LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Clippers teammate Harden are the other active players to have passed the landmark.

Westbrook, meanwhile, is just the second player in NBA history with 25,000 points, 8,000 rebounds and 8,000 assists, after James.

"I'm so grateful to be on this team," said Westbrook, who finished with 23 points. "I don't take any of this for granted."

"Thanks to God man, for allowing me to play the game I love, and be grateful for that. It's a blessing.

"Grateful to be able to play the game of basketball and use my platform to be able to share, impact and inspire people."

Westbrook's basket sparked jubilant celebrations on the Clippers' bench.

"It's a fun group," he added. "We've got good guys, we all hang out, all have fun.

"To see the love and support here from the coaches and my teammates, I'm super grateful for that."

Jaden led the Pistons with 28 points, and he had nothing but praise for Westbrook.

"I actually got to work out with Russ before the start of my rookie year," Ivey said.

"He gave me a lot of advice. He's just a great, humble dude. He took me under his wing a little bit."

The Clippers trailed by 14 points in the first quarter, but clicked through the gears as the game wore on, with Kawhi Leonard (33 points) leading the way.

They’re a tough young team, especially at home," said Westbrook. "We had to figure out how to play the right way, using our effort and energy to close out the game."

Pistons coach Monty Williams was frustrated with his team's sloppiness, however.

"You can't have turnovers and some of the undisciplined errors we had against a team like that," said Williams.

"It's something that has hurt us all season long. When we take care of [the ball], we have a better chance of success."

The Clippers are third in the Western Conference with a 32-15 record, while the Pistons remain rooted to the bottom of the East with the league's worst record (6-42).