SACRAMENTO — The Clippers took the court for the first time since making several significant moves ahead of the NBA trade deadline, but at least one thing looked familiar – Kawhi Leonard playing at an elite level.
Leonard scored 31 points, grabbed nine rebounds and had seven assists to lead the Clippers to a 114-111 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Friday night, sending the Kings to their 11th consecutive loss.
John Collins added 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting, while Brook Lopez added 15 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots and Kris Dunn had 15 points and five assists for the Clippers, who ended a two-game skid.
Leonard shot 9 for 19 from the field in his 13th 30-point performance of the season, making all 12 of his free throws as the Clippers shot 31 for 36 (86%) from the foul line.
Playing short-handed in the aftermath of trades this week that saw them export starters James Harden and Ivica Zubac, the Clippers trailed 84-81 early in the fourth quarter before surviving for their 11th win in the past 15 games.
Leonard put the rally in motion with a long 2-pointer, after which Lopez gave the Clippers the lead for good on a 3-pointer with 9:50 remaining.
Dunn’s big contribution came on an 11-foot floater on which he was fouled, setting up a three-point play, and two minutes later on a 3-pointer that increased the Clippers’ lead to 96-89 with 6:52 left.
Jones then drilled a 24-footer as he was being fouled. He also hit the free throw for a four-point play and a 99-91 margin with 8:36 remaining, and the Kings never recovered.
New Clippers point guard Darius Garland, acquired from the Cleveland Cavaliers in a trade for Harden earlier this week, remained out. He hasn’t played since Jan. 14 because of a sprained big toe on his right foot.
Malik Monk had 18 points off the bench (all 3-pointers) to lead Sacramento, which hasn’t won since beating the struggling Washington Wizards at home on Jan. 16. Nique Clifford had 16 points and Dylan Cardwell and Devin Carter each scored 14 for the Kings. De’Andre Hunter, also acquired in a deal with the Cavaliers this week, had six points in his second game for Sacramento.
The Kings held out star center Domantas Sabonis because of a sore back but still got plenty of production from substitute big man Maxime Raynaud, who had 12 points and five rebounds, and his backup, Cardwell, who snatched a game-high 14 rebounds.
Sacramento veteran starters De’Andre Hunter, Russell Westbrook, DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine combined to shoot just 6-for-25 overall and 0-for-12 on 3-point attempts, the latter contributing to 27.0% team accuracy from beyond the arc. None of the four scored more than six points.
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The Clippers play at Minnesota on Sunday at 3 p.m. PT.
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