INGLEWOOD — Winning six games in a row is a nice perk for any team, a boost that could elevate a season. But when a team starts in a 6-21 hole, six victories only go so far.
That’s where the Clippers find themselves. They are on a roll, adding the Utah Jazz on Thursday night to a pile of opponents left dazed by their resurgence. The Jazz overcame an early 21-point deficit to take the lead in the second half only to see star Kawhi Leonard take over down the stretch, scoring 20 of his game-high 45 points in the final eight minutes to lift the Clippers to a 118-101 victory.
It was another impressive performance by the two-time NBA Finals MVP since the middle of December and an equally notable achievement since the streak began against the Lakers on Dec. 20. The Clippers have won each of the six games by at least 14 points.
Despite the streak and the numbers, the facts are clear. The Clippers (12-21) remain nine games below .500. They have shown improvement in areas, such as getting into their actions quicker and a better defensive effort, but the gap is still too large for celebrations.
“We still got steps (to take),” Leonard said. “Good teams are in the top eight or above (spots in the conference). We’re not there. We’re below .500, so we’re working our way up.
“We’re still trying to get better, individually and as a unit. And we might not be contenders, but we just got to keep fighting.”
The Clippers have inched their way from 14th to a tie with Utah for the 11th spot in the stacked Western Conference. Gaining additional ground could be difficult with the Boston Celtics (21-12) on tap Saturday night and the Golden State Warriors (18-16) on Monday at the Intuit Dome before a three-game trip.
Although the Clippers have knocked off winning teams such as the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons, the Houston Rockets and the Lakers during this stretch, they aren’t patting themselves on the back.
“We talked about it before the game, about just having humility, continuing to keep working hard, paying attention to detail, executing, and then just being unselfish and sharing the basketball,” Coach Tyronn Lue said.
“When you keep working hard, you keep coming to work every single day, you’ll get the results eventually. And that’s what we’ve been able to do.”
Last season, the Clippers posted their 14th consecutive winning season – the longest active streak in the NBA – with a record of 50-32. Although they appear to have righted themselves, the Clippers haven’t forgotten the stretch where they lost 10 of 11 games before this winning streak started.
Perennial All-Star James Harden was asked if he felt like they have gotten their swagger back.
“No,” he said emphatically. “Getting there.”
Forward John Collins said the team simply needs to stick together moving forward.
“We know we have the talent. We got (NBA’s) top 75 guys here. We got champs here. Coach has a ring, et cetera,” Collins said. “We got a lot of experience and know it. They just got to come together and win. That means the most.”
CELTICS AT CLIPPERS
When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Intuit Dome
TV/Radio: FDSN SoCal/570 AM
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