Portland

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.

Deni Avdija had 28 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, Jrue Holiday hit seven threes and finished with 30 points, and the Portland Trail Blazers snapped the Clippers’ five-game win streak, 114-104 on Tuesday night.

The Clippers (39-37) are eighth in the Western Conference, a half-game in front of the ninth-place Blazers (39-38). The Clippers lead the season series — which wraps up April 10 in Portland — with the Blazers 2-1.

Toumani Camara scored 17 points and Scoot Henderson added 15 for the Trail Blazers.

Kawhi Leonard led the Clippers with 23 points. Darius Garland scored 20, Brook Lopez 18, John Collins added 17 and Jordan Miller 16 points.

Leonard has scored at least 20 points in 52 consecutive games, the second-longest active streak of its kind in the NBA (Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has a 136-game streak).

Matisse Thybulle hit a three-pointer that made it 31-29 with 1:06 left in the first quarter and the Blazers led the rest of the way.

Garland made a bucket in the lane that trimmed the Clippers’ deficit to eight with 3:44 left in the third quarter but they got no closer. Henderson hit a step-back three at the buzzer to cap a 16-5 run that made it 91-74 going into the fourth.

Portland had 18 offensive rebounds and 32 second-chance points. The Blazers went into the game leading the NBA in second-chance points (18.2 per game) and are second in offensive rebounds (14.1 per game).

Avdija made 11 of 12 from the free-throw line and has 31 games this season with at least 10 free-throw attempts, second most in the NBA behind Luka Doncic.

Portland’s Jerami Grant (calf) missed his second consecutive game.

Up next for the Clippers: vs. San Antonio at Intuit Dome on Thursday.

PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland’s Kristoffer Velde scored in the 13th minute and Timbers defender Kamal Miller picked up a red card seven minutes later, but James Pantemis surrendered only a João Klauss goal to help them hold on for a 1-1 draw with the Galaxy on Sunday.

Velde scored for the second time this season to give Portland (1-3-1) a 1-0 lead early. But things became difficult from the 20th minute on when Miller received his card for a foul on Klauss.

Antony Alves Santos notched his first assist this season on the score and Joao Ortiz picked up his second.

Klauss came up with the equalizer in the 30th minute with assists from Marco Reus and Gabriel Pec. It was the fifth goal for Klauss, who has certainly helped ease the loss of superstar Riqui Puig for a second straight season because of injuries. Klauss spent his first three seasons with St. Louis City, where he scored 25 goals in 79 appearances.

Reus earned his first assist this season after posting a career-best nine last year. Pec’s helper was his third to begin the season.

Pantemis totaled six saves for the Timbers, including four in the first half.

JT Marcinkowski stopped two shots in his first start of the season for the Galaxy (1-2-2).

The Galaxy lead the series 14-12-11, but are 5-10-11 in Portland. The two clubs played to a 1-1 draw in Portland last season before the Timbers posted a 4-2 victory on the road.

NEW ORLEANS — Saddiq Bey scored 25 points, Trey Murphy added 23 and the New Orleans Pelicans overcame an early 18-point hole to beat the Clippers 124-109 on Wednesday night.

Dejounte Murray had 17 points and 11 assists, while Zion Williamson and rookie Derrick Queen each scored 14 for the Pelicans, who received a standing ovation as the final seconds wound down on their sixth straight victory at home and ninth win in their last 13 games overall

Kawhi Leonard scored 25 points and John Collins added 18 for the Clippers, who dropped a game below .500 (34-35), but maintained a tenuous hold on the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference standings, a half-game ahead of Portland.

Bey hit five of 10 three-point shots to help New Orleans go 16 of 37 (43.2%) from deep. The Pelicans also made 20 of 21 free throws, with Queen making all nine of his.

Pelicans rookie guard Jeremiah Fears chipped in 11 points off the bench.

Murphy made his 200th three of the season late in the third quarter to give New Orleans an 89-81 lead. His fourth make from deep made it 94-81 in the final minute of the period, which ended with New Orleans leading 96-85.

Murphy’s double-clutch dunk over Brook Lopez to close out a fast break spawned by Herb Jones’ steal gave New Orleans a 117-101 lead with 4:43 left, and the Pelicans led by as many as 20 in the final minutes.

New Orleans committed eight turnovers in the first nine minutes, and the Clippers converted those into nine points while building a 33-18 lead.

Leonard scored 12 of his points during that stint and the Clippers led by as many as 18 during the opening quarter before the Pelicans trimmed it to 40-26 on Murphy’s free throws.

New Orleans came all the way back to tie it at 58 on Murphy’s three late in the second quarter.

Leonard and Murphy traded baskets in the final 10 seconds before halftime, with Murphy tying it at 60 on a high, driving floater in traffic.