Clippers fairy tale continues
Los Angeles, Monday
Kawhi Leonard scored a game-high 34 points as the Los Angeles Clippers extended their season-high NBA win streak to seven games with a 108-100 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday.
Leonard shot 14 of 24 from the floor and finished with nine rebounds and eight assists while Ivica Zubac came off the bench to score 10 points and grab 11 rebounds for the Clippers, who beat Oklahoma City for the second time in three days.
Serge Ibaka tallied 17 points, Reggie Jackson finished with 14 and Paul George scored 11 for the Clippers, who matched the Los Angeles Lakers for the best record in the league at 13-4.
“On a night when we weren’t making shots, it was a good, tough, grind-out win for us,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said.
“Kawhi had it going so we played through him a lot, especially in the second half. We had to ride him pretty hard so we could keep the lead.”
George spent two seasons with the Thunder before being traded to the Clippers prior to the 2019-20 season.
Nicolas Batum scored seven points in the win while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 23 points, seven assists and six rebounds for the Thunder, who lost their third in a row after having last Sunday’s game against Philadelphia postponed.
George Hill scored 22 points and Hamidou Diallo had 14 points for Oklahoma City.
The Thunder cut the Clippers lead to six points, 102-96, with just under two minutes left on a basket by Gilgeous-Alexander. But Leonard helped clinch the victory by scoring on a dunk with 42 seconds remaining.
The Clippers grabbed a big lead early just like they did in Friday’s win over the Thunder. -AFP
