The Los Angeles Clippers trailed the Brooklyn Nets by three points after one quarter, 12 points after two quarters and 15 points after three quarters.

The fourth quarter, however, belonged to the Clippers.

The Clippers throttled the Nets in the final period, outscoring them 41-15 and tallied the game's final 22 points to pull out a stunning 125-114 win on Sunday.

Down by 18 points with just under 11 minutes to play, Los Angeles (27-14) closed the game on a 39-10 run en route to its 10th victory in the last 12 games.

Kawhi Leonard led the epic comeback, scoring 14 of his 21 points during the Clippers' 22-0 run over the game's final 5:17.

The Clippers shot 44.7 percent through the first three quarters before making 12-of-16 shots (75.0 per cent) in the final period.

James Harden led Los Angeles with 24 points and 10 assists, while Russell Westbrook added 23 points, nine rebounds and six assists off the bench.

The Nets (17-25) started the game hot, jumping out to 16-0 lead over the first 4 1/2 minutes.

But as hot as they started, they were unable to make a basket down the stretch with a 114-103 lead, missing their final nine shots to lose for the 10th time in 12 games.

Mikal Bridges led Brooklyn with 26 points but scored just six after half-time.

Durant has 40 as Suns hang on to beat Pacers for fifth straight win

Kevin Durant poured in 40 points to lead the Phoenix Suns to a 117-110 win over the Indiana Pacers for their fifth straight victory.

In his third 40-point game of the season, Durant did most of his damage on mid-range jumpers and became the first player in franchise history to score at least 40 points without attempting a free throw.

The 13-time All-Star made 18-of-25 shots - including 4-of-7 from 3-point range - and grabbed nine rebounds to go with a season high-tying three blocks.

The Suns' starting backcourt combined for 51 points, with Devin Booker scoring 26 and Bradley Bead adding 25 points on 11-of-16 shooting.

Phoenix (24-18) led by as much as 14 points, but Indiana used an 11-0 run to pull ahead 105-103 on Buddy Hield's 3-pointer with 3:20 left.

Durant then responded with a 3-pointer of his own on the Suns' next possession, as Phoenix closed the game on a 14-5 run.

Hield led the Pacers with 18 points, and Pascal Siakam had 15 points and seven assists in his second game with Indiana after being acquired from Toronto.

The Pacers (24-19), who were once playing without All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton due to a strained left hamstring, lost for the fourth time in five games following a 9-1 stretch.

Jokic scores season-high 42 as Nuggets beat Wizards

Nikola Jokic had his highest scoring game of the season, scoring 42 points while adding 12 rebounds and eight assists to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 113-104 win over the Washington Wizards.

The two-time NBA MVP was red-hot shooting, going 15-of-20 from the field and making 12-of-14 free throws.

All five Denver starters scored in double figures with Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. each scoring 19, Aaron Gordon adding 11 and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope chipping in 10.

The Nuggets (30-14) led by as much as 17 in winning for the fourth time in five games.

The Wizards (7-35), meanwhile, lost their fourth in a row and for the 10th time in 11 games.

Kyle Kuzma paced Washington with 17 points, seven assists and six rebounds, while Tyus Jones had 15 points and 13 assists.

Daniel Gafford had 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds in his return after missing the last two games with a head injury.

Mikal Bridges scored 26 of his 42 points in the first quarter to help the Brooklyn Nets snap the Orlando Magic’s franchise record-tying nine-game winning streak with a 129-101 victory on Saturday.

Franz Wagner and Cole Anthony each had 20 points for the Magic, who were bidding for the first 10-game win streak in team history but never caught up after Brooklyn opened a 43-22 lead after 12 minutes.

Spencer Dinwiddie added 22 points and Cam Thomas contributed 20 for the Nets, who sent Orlando to its first loss since Nov. 14 and won for the fourth time in five games.

Bridges’ 26 points were the most in the opening period of any game since Dallas’ Luka Dončić had 28 against the Clippers in the 2021-22 season.

The Magic trimmed the deficit to 89-80 with 2:37 left in the third quarter, but Dinwiddie answered by outscoring Orlando 9-5 to increase Brooklyn’s lead to 98-85 heading into the fourth quarter.

Thunder rally past Mavericks after allowing 30-0 run

Jalen Williams led eight players in double figures with 23 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Dallas Mavericks, 126-120 despite allowing an NBA-record 30-0 run in the fourth quarter.

The franchise-record surge took the Mavericks from a 111-87 deficit to a 117-111 lead with 4:18 remaining. Dallas led 120-116 before Oklahoma City scored the game’s final 10 points, the first four by Chet Holmgren.

Luka Doncic returned after missing one game following the birth of his daughter and notched his 59th career regular-season triple-double with 36 points, 18 assists and 15 rebounds in a season-high 46 minutes.

Hot-shooting Pacers beat Heat

Despite playing without leading scorer Tyrese Haliburton, the Indiana Pacers shot a blistering 66 percent from the field in a 144-129 win over the Miami Heat.

Obi Toppin led six players in double digits with 22 points and T.J. McConnell added 20 and 11 assists off the bench for Indiana, which connected on 56 of 85 from the field for 65.9 percent, the second-best rate in team history.

The Pacers shot 67 percent against Minnesota on Oct. 24, 2017.

Jimmy Butler scored 33 points as Miami clearly missed Bam Adebayo on the defensive end. Adebayo has a bruised left hip and isn’t expected to play again until Friday against Cleveland at the earliest.