Kawhi Leonard scores 35 points to lead Clippers to come-from-behind win
Thursday 26 December 2019 08:35, UK
Anthony Davis said the Los Angeles Lakers "gave away" victory against the LA Clippers with mistakes late in the game.
Kawhi Leonard scored 11 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter and had 12 rebounds to help the Clippers to a 111-106 win over their city rivals in the NBA's marquee Christmas Day game.
"They wanted it more," Davis said. "We had a lot of mistakes down at the end of the game, mental mistakes at both ends of the floor. We fouled a lot in the fourth quarter, put them to the line. We gave that one away."
The resilient Clippers trailed by 12 points at half-time, by 15 in the third quarter and by seven in the fourth quarter with 6:39 remaining, but they rallied to improve to 2-0 against the Lakers this season.
"We did not flinch," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. "We just kind of hung in there. Almost felt like we were biding our time and just trying to make a run. That is something you have to have when things aren't going great for you. You have just got to hang in there and I thought we did that tonight."
Leonard set a franchise record for points scored in a Christmas Day game, and he became the 10th player in NBA history with at least 35 points, 10 rebounds and five assists on December 25.
Montrezl Harrell had 18 points off the bench and Paul George added 17.
"We have so many interchanging parts," Clippers guard Lou Williams said. "We have guys that are going to have big nights. I think I had five or six points tonight, and that is just how this team is built. It is going to be different guys every night."
Kyle Kuzma led Los Angeles with 25 points. LeBron James had 23 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds, while Davis had 24 points.
The Lakers had a chance to tie in the final seconds, but the video review showed James touched the ball last after Patrick Beverly knocked it away as James went up for a three-pointer. George hit two free throws for the final margin, condemning the Lakers to their fourth straight defeat.
"That wasn't the game right there," James said. "I mean, it is a big play and you want to try to get it right, but it wasn't where the game was lost."
There was plenty of star power sitting courtside for the highly-anticipated game, including Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea and R&B star The Weeknd.
Kevin Hart found himself closer to the action than expected when Davis missed a fallaway shot at the end of the first half and ended up on top of the comedian. James ran over from the bench and did the same, much to the amusement of Hart's kids.
