Kawhi

Kawhi Leonard scored 34 points, hitting six three-pointers, and the Clippers recovered after blowing a 23-point lead to beat rookie Cooper Flagg and the Dallas Mavericks 116-103 on Tuesday night.

It was Leonard’s 55th straight game with 20 or more points in the Clippers’ first win in three tries against the Mavs this season.

Leonard played in his 62nd game, and he’ll have to appear in the final three games of the regular season to reach 65 and be eligible for postseason awards such as league MVP and All-NBA honors.

Darius Garland added 22 points, Derrick Jones Jr. had 11 points and 10 rebounds and Brook Lopez had 11 rebounds for the Clippers.

After scoring 96 points in his previous two games, Flagg had 25 points and nine rebounds. The Mavs made 25 of 26 free throws, with Max Christie hitting 10 of 10. AJ Johnson had their lone miss late in the game. Marvin Bagley III had 21 points and nine rebounds off the bench.

The Mavs tied the game in the third and then took just their second lead, 80-77, on a basket by Ryan Nembhard. Leonard scored seven of the Clippers’ final 11 points to send them into the fourth leading 89-84.

The Clippers scored 17 consecutive points to start the game. They extended the lead to 23 points on Lopez’s three-pointer. They shot 68% from the floor and went into the second ahead 39-26.

The Mavs responded with a 21-8 run to tie it 47-47 on Bagley’s three-pointer. Flagg was limited to one basket in the second.

From there, the Clippers closed with an 18-8 spurt to lead 65-55 at halftime. Leonard scored their final seven points on a three-pointer, a basket off his offensive rebound and two free throws.

Up next for the Clippers: vs. West-leading Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday to complete a back-to-back.

SACRAMENTO — Kawhi Leonard scored 26 points, and the Clippers snapped a two-game skid by beating the Sacramento Kings 138-109 on Sunday night to improve their play-in positioning.

Leonard scored 13 points in the first quarter as the Clippers raced out to a double-digit lead and coasted against a Kings team playing out the string of a lost season. Leonard has scored 20 or more in 54 consecutive games.

John Collins added 25 points, and Darius Garland and Kobe Sanders each had 17 for the Clippers.

The Clippers (40-38) moved into a tie with Portland for eighth place in the Western Conference with four games to play. The eighth-place team will have two shots to get into the playoffs through the play-in tournament.

Devin Carter scored 21 points and Nique Clifford had 18 to lead Sacramento. Maxime Raynaud had 16 rebounds and 11 points for his 18th double-double, the most among rookies.

The Kings, who won their previous two games, remained in a tie with Utah for the fourth-worst record in the NBA at 21-58 with three games left. Sacramento is tied for the third-most losses in franchise history, having lost 59 games in 1989-90 and 65 in 2008-09.

Up next for the Clippers: vs. Dallas at Intuit Dome on Tuesday night.

INDIANAPOLIS — Kawhi Leonard made a jumper with 0.4 seconds remaining, and the Clippers rallied from a 24-point deficit to beat the Indiana Pacers 114-113 on Friday night.

Leonard finished with 28 points, reaching 20 for the 50th straight game. Darius Garland led the Clippers with 30.

The Clippers were run off the floor early by the team with the NBA’s worst record. The Pacers were a sizzling eight for 11 from three-point range in the first quarter to open a 42-21 lead.

It grew to 45-21 early in the second before the Clippers stormed back for their fourth straight victory, giving coach Tyronn Lue the 400th of his career.

Indiana had gone back ahead 113-108 on Obi Toppin’s jumper with a minute to play. Leonard answered with a jumper, Garland made two free throws and the Clippers got the ball back after Pascal Siakam missed a jumper. They inbounded along the left side to Leonard, who dribbled into the middle and pulled up for the winner.

Leonard become the 14th NBA player to score at least 20 in 50 straight games, a streak that began Nov. 28.

Bennedict Mathurin scored 17 points against his former team, going 12 for 15 on free throws.

Aaron Nesmith scored 26 points and Toppin had 20 for the Pacers, who have dropped two in a row since the victory that snapped their 16-game winning streak. They lost forward Jarace Walker after he was evaluated for a concussion in the first half.

Up next for the Clippers: at Milwaukee on Sunday.

Kawhi Leonard had 27 points, Darius Garland added 24, and the Clippers beat the Toronto Raptors 119-94 on Wednesday night.

Bennedict Mathurin had 23 off the bench and Brook Lopez scored 11 of his 14 points in the first quarter for the Clippers, who have won three in a row.

The Clippers stayed a half-game ahead of the Portland Trail Blazers for eighth in the Western Conference.

Brandon Ingram had 18 points, Sandro Mamukelashvili chipped in with 13, but the Raptors have now lost three straight.

Toronto dropped into sixth in the Eastern Conference, one game behind the Atlanta Hawks, and is a half-game ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers in seventh.

With Lopez setting the tone, the Clippers outscored the Raptors 23-9 over the final 6:10 of the first quarter to open a 14-point lead.

Kawhi Leonard shoots over Raptors forward Collin Murray-Boyles in the first half.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

The Raptors found themselves trailing by 22 in the second quarter before a late 11-1 run cut the gap. However, Toronto could have cut into the advantage even more had it capitalized better on 10 offensive rebounds or from the free-throw line, where it shot 14.3% (one for seven) in the period.

Mamukelashvili hit consecutive three-pointers as the Raptors tried to make one more push late in the third quarter, only for the Clippers to pull away again, with Garland making a 35-footer at the buzzer.

The Clippers were 19 for 24 from the free-throw line and outscored Toronto there by 15 points.

Raptors center Jakob Poeltl was briefly forced out of the game after sustaining a cut near his left eye going up for a rebound early in the second quarter and finished with 10 points.

Victor Wembanyama had 21 points and 13 rebounds and the San Antonio Spurs overcame an early 14-point deficit before blowing most of a 24-point lead and recovering to hold off the Clippers 119-115 on Monday night at Intuit Dome.

Stephon Castle had 23 points, eight assists and seven rebounds to lead the Spurs (50-18), who reached 50 wins for the first time since 2016-17 and trail the first-place Thunder by three games in the West. Devin Vassell added 20 points.

Fighting to secure a spot for the play-in tournament, the Clippers’ second straight loss dropped them back to .500 with Kawhi Leonard watching from the bench. The NBA’s sixth-leading scorer sat out with a sprained left knee.

Darius Garland drives to the basket against De’Aaron Fox and Victor Wembanyama of the Spurs in the second half.

(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)

Darius Garland led six Clippers in double figures with 25 points and 10 assists. Jordan Miller had 22 points off the bench, which outscored the Spurs’ reserves 57-30.

After the Spurs ran off seven in a row to lead 115-102, Garland scored seven of the Clippers’ nine points to get within four with 38 seconds remaining. But the Spurs made four straight free throws to preserve the win.

The Spurs led by 24 points in the third before the Clippers closed with a 16-3 run to trail by 10 going into the fourth.

The Spurs started slowly, missing eight of their first nine shots, while the Clippers surged to a 17-3 lead. They shot 65% from the floor in the opening quarter, hit five of seven three-pointers and made 10 of 12 free throws.

San Antonio turned things around in the second. The Spurs erased all of their 14-point deficit, helped by 15 straight points over the end of the first and start of the second. In the period, they outscored the Clippers 37-15 to lead 66-52 at halftime.

Russell Westbrook had 12 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for his 209th career triple-double and DeMar DeRozan scored 27 points to lead the Sacramento Kings to a 118-109 victory over the Clippers on Saturday night.

Kawhi Leonard scored 31 points before leaving with a sprained left ankle for the Clippers, whose four-game winning streak was stopped. It was Leonard’s 45th consecutive game with at least 20 points, topping Bob McAdoo’s franchise record set during the 1974-75 season when the team was based in Buffalo.

Leonard was injured with 9:27 left in the fourth quarter when he was guarding DeRozan and landed awkwardly before backpedaling a few steps and tumbling to the court. He popped up quickly, but limped noticeably to the Clippers’ bench before heading to the locker room. Leonard didn’t return to the game and there was no immediate word on whether he might miss time.

Precious Achiuwa added 25 points and 13 rebounds, Maxime Raynaud had 23 points and Daeqwon Plowden scored 15 for the Kings, who have won three of their last four games.

Darius Garland added 25 points and Bennedict Mathurin had 24 for Los Angeles, which had won its last five at home.

The game was close early and tied at 39 with 7:04 left in the second quarter, but Sacramento took over from there. The Kings led 68-54 at halftime and made it a 20-point game — their largest lead — at 90-70 on Plowden’s three-pointer with 2:19 left in the third quarter.

But the Clippers, even without Leonard, stormed back in the fourth and cut the deficit to 103-100 on a pullup basket by Mathurin with 4:15 remaining. Sacramento outscored Los Angeles 15-9 the rest of the way to seal the win.

Kawhi Leonard scored 45 points and the Clippers routed the Minnesota Timberwolves 153-128 on Wednesday night, moving above .500 with their third straight victory and sixth in seven games.

Eighth in the Western Conference at 33-32 after opening 6-21, the Clippers had their highest point total of the season. They blew out Minnesota after beating New York on Monday night to open a five-game homestand.

Leonard was 15 of 20 from the the field, six of nine on threes and made nine of 10 free throws. Los Angeles made 19 of 37 threes.

Bennedict Mathurin scored 22 points for the Clippers and Darius Garland had 21, hitting five three-pointers.

Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 36 points and Naz Reid had 18.

Kawhi Leonard goes to the basket against Julius Randle in the first half.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

Minnesota dropped to sixth in the tight Western Conference, but only a half-game behind the third-place Lakers. The Timberwolves have lost three in a row after winning five straight. They lost to the Lakers on Tuesday night to open four-game trip.

Leonard scored 18 points in the first quarter to help the Clippers take a 38-27 lead. He had 28 at the half, with the Clippers up 74-65, and went to the fourth with 39 and his team ahead 109-98. The Clippers had a 44-30 edge in the fourth.