Kawhi Leonard scored 26 of his game-high 33 points in a runaway first half and the Los Angeles Clippers went on to a fifth straight victory, 131-90 over the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday in Inglewood, Calif.
James Harden chipped in with 21 points for the Clippers, who led 73-40 at halftime en route to their biggest margin of victory this season.
Rookie Nique Clifford had a season-high 18 points for the Kings, whose 90 points were a season low.
Harden put up 12 points in the first quarter, during which Los Angeles led just 12-10 into the sixth minute before ending the period on a 22-10 run.
Leonard then took charge in the second quarter. After contributing eight points in the first, he added 18 more as the Clippers blew the game open with a 39-20 second-quarter onslaught.
In losing for the eighth time in the past 10 games, the Kings never got closer than 28 in the second half.
Playing just 33 minutes, Leonard also found time for five rebounds, five assists and three steals for the Clippers. Having scored 55 points in 39 minutes during Los Angeles’ Sunday win over the Detroit Pistons, Leonard has put up 88 points in 72 minutes in his past two games.
Harden, who played 30 minutes on Tuesday, equaled Leonard’s game-high total of five assists.
John Collins and Yanic Konan Niederhauser added 16 points apiece and Kris Dunn 10 for Los Angeles, which outshot the visitors 51.1% to 41%.
Clifford logged his 18 points in 29 minutes. He had never previously scored more than 15 points.
Maxime Raynaud had the game’s lone double-double with 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for Sacramento. Russell Westbrook (12 points), Keegan Murray (11) and Dennis Schroder (11) joined Clifford and Raynaud in double figures for the Kings, who were coming off a 125-101 road defeat against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.
Niederhauser and Dunn tied Brook Lopez and Kobe Sanders for team-high rebound honors with six.
Westbrook and Schroder shared team-high assist honors with four apiece.
–Field Level Media
