James Harden recorded his second triple-double of the season and the host Los Angeles Clippers sent the Washington Wizards to their 12th consecutive loss in a 110-93 rout on Thursday.
On his way to an 83rd career triple-double, Harden grabbed 12 rebounds, dished 13 assists and posted 17 points as one of seven Clippers to finish in double-figure scoring. Among them was Mo Bamba, who scored 11 of his 13 points off the bench in less than four minutes to open the second quarter.
Bamba’s outburst, which included three made 3-pointers, was part of a 21-4 run that began in the first quarter and carried over into the second. Los Angeles held Washington without a field goal for 7:28, overlapping with the pivotal Clippers run.
Los Angeles never trailed and pushed its lead to as many as 27 points. Washington tried to fight back in the second half, pulling within 12 points midway through the fourth quarter at the end of an 11-4 run.
Kyle Kuzma, who scored just two points before the brief surge, posted five quick points.
The Clippers answered and snuffed out any hope of a Wizards comeback, however, when Norman Powell fueled a 10-0 run. Powell scored eight of his team-high 22 points in the decisive burst.
Following Powell was Derrick Jones Jr., who scored all 19 of his points in the game’s first 26:31. Ivica Zubac scored 11 points and grabbed nine rebounds, and Kawhi Leonard went for 15 points and seven rebounds.
Amir Coffey rounded out Los Angeles’ double-figure scoring with 10 points off the bench.
On defense, the Clippers held Washington to just 32-of-94 shooting from the floor, including 11-of-46 from 3-point range. Jordan Poole, who scored a game-high 24 points, shot 4-of-12 from outside but went just 6-of-19 from the field overall.
Kuzma shot 3-of-12 and Alex Sarr, who finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds, shot 6-of-14.
The loss dropped Washington to 0-4 on its six-game Western Conference road swing. The 12 consecutive games the Wizards have dropped put them four away from matching their season-long skid of 16, which lasted from Nov. 2 through Dec. 5.
–Field Level Media
