Kawhi Leonard poured in a season-high 27 points and Ivica Zubac amassed 21 points and 22 rebounds as the Los Angeles Clippers dominated the final five minutes on the way to a 128-116 win over the host San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday.
The Clippers led by two points after three back-and-forth quarters. After briefly surrendering the front on a Victor Wembanyama 3-pointer with 5:38 to play, Los Angeles reeled off 17 of the next 19 points, with Leonard punctuating the run with a jumper with 2:20 left to make it 119-107. The Clippers cruised home from there, winning for the third time in their past four outings and for the seventh of their past 10.
Norman Powell also had 27 points for Los Angeles while James Harden racked up 21 points and 12 assists. Nicolas Batum added 12 points.
Wembanyama scored 23 points and pulled down 12 rebounds — both team highs — to lead the Spurs, who have lost five of their past six games and four in a row on their home court. Stephon Castle added 20 points, with Devin Vassell hitting for 19 and Harrison Barnes tallying 15.
Two free throws by Wembanyama with 5.6 seconds to go in the first quarter were quickly answered by Batum’s 3-pointer at the buzzer that allowed the Clippers to draw to within 32-30 after 12 minutes of play.
Los Angeles took charge midway through the second period, using a 10-2 run capped by Harden’s 3-pointer at the 3:18 mark to turn a two-point lead into a 59-49 advantage. The Spurs trimmed the margin to five points on a pair of free throws by Vassell with 13 seconds remaining and went to the break down 65-60.
Powell and Leonard led the Clippers with 12 points each before halftime while Zubac added 10 points and nine rebounds, and Harden dished out eight assists. San Antonio got 11 points apiece from Castle and Vassell and 10 from Barnes in the first half.
Loa Angeles boosted its lead to 16 points on a Zubac jumper with 7:11 to play in the third quarter. Keldon Johnson’s 3-pointer with 1:39 left in the third culminated a 20-4 run for San Antonio and gave it a 90-89 lead, but the Clippers finished the period with a 5-2 spurt that gave them a 94-92 edge heading into the final quarter.
–Field Level Media
