kawhi leonard

Desmond Bane scored 36 points and Paolo Banchero added 16 points and eight assists as the Orlando Magic held on for a 111-109 victory over the Clippers on Sunday night at Intuit Dome.

Wendell Carter Jr. had 15 points and 14 rebounds and Tristan da Silva scored 13 for the Magic, who improved to 5-2 since Feb. 5.

Kawhi Leonard shrugged off an ankle injury to score 37 points and Bennedict Mathurin added 21 points and nine rebounds off the bench for the Clippers, who are 4-5 since Feb. 2. Mathurin missed a three-point attempt to win the game at the buzzer.

Jordan Miller had 14 points for the Clippers (27-30).

Leonard exited Friday’s loss against the Lakers with an ankle sprain. Mathurin was playing in his fifth game for the Clippers after he was acquired at the trade deadline from the Indiana Pacers.

Orlando won despite going eight of 23 from three-point range, two games after setting a franchise record with 27 three-pointers in a victory at Sacramento. Jalen Suggs missed his second consecutive game for the Magic with back spasms.

In a tight game throughout, Leonard gave the Clippers a 107-105 lead with 3:03 remaining on a jumper from the top of the key. The Magic took charge from there as Bane hit a jumper to tie the score and then made a layup with 1:28 left for a 109-107 advantage.

As the Clippers missed four consecutive shots, Orlando went up 111-107 on a fast-break dunk from Banchero with 40 seconds left.

Bane tried to pad the Magic’s lead with eight seconds remaining but had his shot blocked inside by rookie Yanic Konan Niederhauser. Mathurin then raced down the floor only to miss a 25-footer as time expired.

For just the 11th time in 55 games this season, the Lakers had Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves sharing the court together.

They are the core of the Lakers, the engines that make this team go, but health issues have prevented them from playing together for far too much of the 2025-26 campaign.

During their first game since the NBA All-Star break, Doncic, Reaves and James carried the the Lakers to a 125-122 win over the Clippers Friday night at Crypto.com Arena.

Doncic had 38 points, 11 assists and six rebounds.

Lakers guard Austin Reaves celebrates after Clippers guard Bennedict Mathurin (9) was called for an offensive foul Friday at Crypto.com Arena.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

Reaves had 29 points, six assists and made a big defensive play late in the game.

And James had 13 points and 11 assists, his fifth straight game with 10 or more assists.

Up 118-115 with 1:49 left, Reaves took drew a charge on Bennedict Mathurin, the Clipper’s sixth foul that sent him to the bench with 26 points.

Still, the Lakers didn’t escape until Doncic made two free throws with 21.2 seconds left to give the Lakers a five-point lead that barely stood.

With a 125-122 lead and the ball, James threw a dangerous cross-court pass intended for Doncic that Nicolas Batum instead stole.

But Batum missed a potential game-tying three-pointer and James got the rebound to secure the win.

The Lakers put two defenders on Kawhi Leonard, double teaming the Clippers’ best offensive weapon, keeping a crowd of defenders around him, especially when they employed their zone defense.

Leonard was giving it to the Lakers, but he left late in the fourth quarter with left ankle soreness, departing with 31 points on 11-for-19 shooting.

Lakers coach JJ Redick said pre-game that Leonard is back to being a force on both sides of the basketball.

That’s why so much of the Lakers’ gameplan centered around trying to slow down Leonard, who is eighth in the NBA in scoring (27.8) and tied for first in steals (2.0).

“He’s more consistently taking the tougher assignments right now, and he’s back to being just an elite two-way player on both ends of the floor,” Redick said. “And you know, he’s playing as well as anybody in the NBA right now for the last two months, whatever the starting point would be, but it really is on both sides of the ball.”

Leonard is a primary reason why the Clippers are still rolling despite having traded away two key pieces in guard James Harden and center Ivicia Zubac.

The Clippers started the season 6-21, looking nothing like a playoff team.

But then they beat the Lakers on Dec. 20 and that got the Clippers rolling to a 21-7 stretch entering Friday night’s game, a two-month period that saw them get to one game under .500.

Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said none of the Clippers ever gave up on the season, adding they were always “playing to win” no matter whether they had “young, old, toddlers” on the court.

“I just feel confident,” Lue said. “I just feel confident in our players, confident in our coaching staff and I just feel confident in the environment and the culture that we’ve set. Why wouldn’t we want to play to win? That’s our mindset. That’s my mindset every single night. As tough as it may be or you start 6-21 whatever it may be, you’re playing to win. So, we make it to the playoffs and anything can happen. So our goal is to make it to the playoffs. I don’t know why somebody would scoff at that.”

HOUSTON — Kevin Durant scored 26 points and Alperen Sengun added 22 to help the Houston Rockets to a 102-95 victory over the Clippers on Tuesday night.

Bennedict Mathurin had nine points and seven rebounds in 26 minutes in his first game for the Clippers since being traded from Indiana last week. Darius Garland, acquired in the trade that sent James Harden to Cleveland, remains out with a toe injury.

Houston led by six points at the start the fourth period and scored the first seven points of the quarter to extend its lead to 85-72 with 10 ½ minutes remaining. Kawhi Leonard made two free throws, but the Rockets scored the next four points to extend the lead.

The Rockets were up by 12 later in the fourth when Durant stole the ball from Brook Lopez, and Reed Sheppard made an off-balance three-pointer to make it 92-77 with about 6 ½ minutes to go.

Houston remained up by 15 about a minute later when Clippers coach Tyronn Lue cleared his bench.

Leonard led the Clippers (25-28) with 24 points after scoring 41 in a blowout win in December in the last meeting between the teams. The Clippers made 20 three-pointers in that 128-108 victory, but were just eight for 30 from long range on Tuesday.

Jabari Smith Jr. had 13 points and 11 rebounds and Amen Thompson added 16 points for the Rockets in his return after sitting out of Saturday’s win over Oklahoma City because of an illness.

A three-pointer by Jordan Miller cut the lead to two points late in the third before Sengun scored the last two baskets of the quarter to put the Rockets up 78-72 entering the fourth.

MINNEAPOLIS — Kawhi Leonard had 41 points and eight rebounds and the Clippers beat the slumping Minnesota Timberwolves 115-96 on Sunday.

John Collins had 15 points on six-of-nine shooting, and Yanic Konan Niederhauser also scored 15 points. The Clippers took command with a 17-3 run closing out the third quarter.

Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 23 points, and Julius Randle had 17. The Timberwolves have lost three of their last four, all to sub-.500 opponents. Minnesota made just eight of 33 three-point attempts and committed 20 turnovers while being held under 100 points for just the second time this season.

Ayo Dosunmu, making his Timberwolves debut after being acquired in a trade with Chicago, had 11 points and two steals.

The Timberwolves were coming off one of their most frustrating losses of the season, when they blew an 18-point third-quarter lead in a home loss to the lowly New Orleans Pelicans.

The first half was more of the same for Minnesota. Leonard scored 24 points and helped key an 18-2 run late in the second quarter that give the Clippers a 54-42 lead.

The Clippers played without their two key trade deadline acquisitions. Darius Garland, who arrived from Cleveland in the James Harden trade, remained sidelined with a sprained big toe on his right foot. The Clippers had already said wingman Bennedict Mathurin, picked up in a swap with the Pacers, wouldn’t join his new team until Tuesday in Houston.

SACRAMENTO — Kawhi Leonard scored 31 points, grabbed nine rebounds and had seven assists to lead the Clippers to a 114-111 victory over Sacramento on Friday night, sending the Kings to their 11th straight loss.

John Collins added 22 points and Brook Lopez and Kris Dunn each had 15 for the Clippers, who ended a two-game skid.

Darius Garland, acquired from Cleveland earlier in the 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 to lead Sacramento, which hasn’t won since beating Washington at home on Jan. 16. Nique Clifford had 16 points and Dylan Cardwell and Devin Carter each had 14 for the Kings. De’Andre Hunter, also acquired from the Cavaliers this week, had six points in his second game for Sacramento.

The Clippers went into halftime trailing 49-48, but took the lead for good with 9:50 left in the fourth quarter on a 3-pointer from Lopez to make it 86-84.

Up next

Clippers: At Minnesota on Sunday.

Kings: Host Cleveland on Saturday night.

Clippers star forward Kawhi Leonard, the NBA’s seventh-leading scorer and likely the most deserving player left off the All-Star Game reserves, was added to one of the U.S. rosters for the new mini-tournament that will take place Feb. 15 at Intuit Dome.

He’ll play alongside Lakers forward LeBron James and former Clippers teammate Norman Powell of the Heat.

The NBA announced the rosters for the U.S. vs. the World format with the 10 starters, 14 reserves and Leonard split onto three squads: Team USA Stars featuring younger players, Team USA Stripes with the old guard and Team World with foreign players.

It’s a concept that NBA commissioner Adam Silver thinks will tap into national pride for the players and comes at a fitting time. The game will be aired on NBC, which is also broadcasting the Milan-Cortina Olympics that start this week and run through Feb. 22.

The U.S.-vs.-World concept was talked about for years before becoming a reality this season. The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association unveiled the long-awaited plan in their latest attempt to spark renewed interest in the game following a largely panned tournament format last season.

Towns was born in New Jersey but has played international basketball for the Dominican Republic — his late mother’s homeland.

The NBA had said in recent months that it would adjust roster sizes as needed to ensure all three teams had at least eight players, the minimum required under the new format. Giannis Antetokounmpo is not expected to play for the World team because of injury, which is why that squad has nine players.

Team USA Stars: Scottie Barnes (Raptors), Devin Booker (Suns), Cade Cunningham (Pistons), Jalen Duren (Pistons), Anthony Edwards (Timberwolves), Chet Holmgren (Thunder), Jalen Johnson (Hawks), Tyrese Maxey (76ers).

Team USA Stripes: Jaylen Brown (Celtics), Jalen Brunson (Celtics), Stephen Curry (Warriors), Kevin Durant (Rockets), LeBron James (Lakers), Kawhi Leonard (Clippers), Donovan Mitchell (Cavaliers), Norman Powell (Heat).

Team World: Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks), Deni Avdija (Trail Blazers), Luka Doncic (Lakers), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder), Nikola Jokic (Nuggets), Jamal Murray (Nuggets), Pascal Siakam (Pacers), Karl-Anthony Towns (Knicks), Victor Wembanyama (Spurs).

Associated Press and nba.com contributed to this report.

Tyrese Maxey scored 29 points, including seven 3-pointers, Dominick Barlow added 26 points and 16 rebounds, and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Clippers 128-113 on Monday night for their fourth consecutive victory.

The game featured two big names who weren’t selected as All-Star reserves: Joel Embiid of the Sixers and Kawhi Leonard of the Clippers.

Embiid had 24 points as he continues to gain full strength after a right ankle injury. The Sixers improved to 11-10 without Paul George, who is serving a 25-game suspension for violating the NBA’s anti-drug program.

Leonard led the Clippers with 29 points and Jordan Miller had 21 points off the bench.

The Clippers were without James Harden, who missed his second straight game due to personal reasons. Coach Tyronn Lue said before the game that Harden was at home in Phoenix.

Leonard had two dunks and a three-pointer in the fourth, but the Clippers couldn’t put together a sustained run and he finished the game on the bench.

Maxey, Barlow and Embiid combined to score 22 points in the third when the Sixers were outscored 34-28, but still led 100-87.

The Sixers led the entire game, going up by 23 points before settling for a 72-53 halftime advantage.

The Clippers are 8-3 over their last 11 games as they try to stay within range of at least making the play-in tournament.

PHOENIX — Kawhi Leonard scored 25 points and the Clippers, playing without James Harden, routed the Phoenix Suns 117-93 on Sunday night.

Leonard, who was left off the Western Conference All-Star reserves announced earlier Sunday, had eight rebounds as well as his 27th consecutive game with 20 or more points. Ivica Zubac had 20 rebounds as the Clippers bounced back from a loss at Denver on Friday and dominated the inside, outrebounding Phoenix 63-35 and outscoring the Suns 64-18 in the paint.

Jordan Miller had 20 points, John Collins scored 16, Zubac had 14 and Kobe Sanders had 12 for the Clippers, who shot 51.8% from the field. Sanders started for Harden, who missed the game for personal reasons.

Since starting the season 6-21, the Clippers have won 17 of 21 and are just two games under .500. The Suns had won three straight before Sunday, and are still 15-7 since Dec. 21.

Grayson Allen led the Suns with 23 points and eight assists, and Dillon Brooks scored 22 points. Phoenix shot just 33.3% from the field and was held under 100 points for just the sixth time in 50 games this season. Collin Gillespie and Jordan Goodwin each finished with 12 points.

The Suns were without Devin Booker (right ankle sprain) and Jalen Green (right hamstring, left hip). Booker was selected as a reserve for his fifth All-Star Game earlier Sunday.

The teams split the season series 2-2.

Up next for the Clippers: vs. Philadelphia at Intuit Dome on Monday night.

The date was Dec. 20. It was the day everything changed for the Clippers.

Kawhi Leonard has been the leading scorer in the NBA since, averaging 31.8 points per game. James Harden has averaged 25.1 points in that stretch. The Clippers have the best scoring differential in the Western Conference over that span. They’ve been rolling.

This is where Robert Flom enters the story.

Flom is a blogger who covers the Clippers, and Dec. 20 was when he wrote the following on X: “If they go 15-3 in any stretch this season will print and eat this tweet.”

The Clippers have gone 15-3 since. True to his word, Flom printed the tweet Monday and ate it.

“Pretty crunchy,” he said.

Social media wasn’t around in 1953 or 1985, which means it’s highly unlikely anyone in Baltimore or Cleveland had to endure a crunchy moment like the one Flom put himself through on Monday night.

The 1952-53 Baltimore Bullets got into the playoffs by finishing fourth in a five-team division, in a year when eight of the NBA’s 10 teams made the postseason. The 1984-85 Cleveland Cavaliers got into the playoffs despite spending more than three months of that season holding down last place in the Eastern Conference.

Both teams started those seasons with 6-21 records. Of the 121 teams that started an NBA season with a record that bad or worse, including five this season, those Bullets (who finished 16-54) and Cavaliers (who finished 36-46) are the only two that wound up reaching the postseason.

The Clippers started 6-21 this season. The playoffs were a million miles away. Not anymore.

Going into Tuesday’s game at Utah, the Clippers are three games under .500 at 21-24. They are 10th in the West, but that would be enough to get them into the play-in tournament and give them a chance at a playoff berth.

For a team that was a half-game out of last place in the West a couple of days before Christmas, just getting back to play-in range this soon represents a minor miracle.

“We’re confident, we’re playing well, but we’ve still got to play better,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said after Sunday’s 126-89 romp over the Brooklyn Nets. “We still have to run through the tape and continue to execute the right way. … Overall, we’re playing well. We’ve got to keep it going.”

The Clippers, to their credit, were aware of Flom’s tweet. The Clippers’ social media team had a blast with it — all in good fun, like the tweet itself — and players couldn’t help but react when they got that 15th win in 18 games that ensured Flom would be chewing on paper for a half-hour or so.

“We gotta get him on camera,” Lue said.

“I don’t know how healthy that is for you,” Leonard said.

Clippers fans got into the act as well, chanting “eat the tweet” during Sunday’s game. It’s a feel-good story, such as it is. And there have been a few of those in the NBA this season.

Among them: Toronto started slowly but is vying for home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs now. BetMGM Sportsbook had Phoenix’s over-under for wins this season at 30.5; the Suns have already won 27 games. The Celtics, even without Jayson Tatum, are No. 2 in the East, something few outside Boston probably expected.

The Clippers were supposed to be good, like title-contending good. Starting 6-21 was beyond unexpected. Then again, so was the turnaround. And the tweet is a neat part of why everyone seems happy in Clipperland these days, after tons of drama going back to the summer.

There was a probe of whether a business relationship between Leonard and a California company was legitimate or merely a way for the Clippers to circumvent salary cap rules, then Chris Paul being sent home in a stunning early December move, and a whole lot of losing.

Now, there’s a whole lot of winning. For the record, Flom now says the Clippers will finish 45-37. The way they’re playing, he might not have to eat those words.