Field Level Media
31 Dec 2025, 12:25 GMT+10
(Photo credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images)
Kawhi Leonard scored 26 of his game-high 33 points in a runaway first half and the Los Angeles Clippers went on to a fifth straight victory, 131-90 over the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday in Inglewood, Calif.
James Harden chipped in with 21 points for the Clippers, who led 73-40 at halftime en route to their biggest margin of victory this season.
Rookie Nique Clifford had a season-high 18 points for the Kings, whose 90 points were a season low.
Harden put up 12 points in the first quarter, during which Los Angeles led just 12-10 into the sixth minute before ending the period on a 22-10 run.
Leonard then took charge in the second quarter. After contributing eight points in the first, he added 18 more as the Clippers blew the game open with a 39-20 second-quarter onslaught.
In losing for the eighth time in the past 10 games, the Kings never got closer than 28 in the second half.
Playing just 33 minutes, Leonard also found time for five rebounds, five assists and three steals for the Clippers. Having scored 55 points in 39 minutes during Los Angeles' Sunday win over the Detroit Pistons, Leonard has put up 88 points in 72 minutes in his past two games.
Harden, who played 30 minutes on Tuesday, equaled Leonard's game-high total of five assists.
John Collins and Yanic Konan Niederhauser added 16 points apiece and Kris Dunn 10 for Los Angeles, which outshot the visitors 51.1% to 41%.
Clifford logged his 18 points in 29 minutes. He had never previously scored more than 15 points.
Maxime Raynaud had the game's lone double-double with 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for Sacramento. Russell Westbrook (12 points), Keegan Murray (11) and Dennis Schroder (11) joined Clifford and Raynaud in double figures for the Kings, who were coming off a 125-101 road defeat against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.
Niederhauser and Dunn tied Brook Lopez and Kobe Sanders for team-high rebound honors with six.
Westbrook and Schroder shared team-high assist honors with four apiece.
--Field Level Media
Get a daily dose of Central Coast News news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Central Coast News.
More InformationNEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks were weaker Tuesday as investors and traders pondered the latest Federal Reserve FOMC meeting minutes....
HUZHOU, China: A private Chinese rocket startup is stepping into territory long dominated by SpaceX, signaling a shift in China's space...
ROME, Italy: Amazon has shelved its bid to launch drone deliveries in Italy, pulling back from a pilot effort that had shown technical...
NEW YORK, New York - Major U.S. stock indices closed lower on Monday, pulling back from recent record levels as investors consolidated...
SANTA CLARA, California: A global scramble to secure computing power for artificial intelligence is driving a wave of multi-billion-dollar...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: When the last gifts were unwrapped, and the Christmas rush faded, a different picture of holiday shopping...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: The customary crystal ball that rises over Times Square in New York City on every New Year's Eve and disperses...
SANTA CLARA, California: A global scramble to secure computing power for artificial intelligence is driving a wave of multi-billion-dollar...
SANTA CLARA, California: Nvidia has struck a deal with artificial intelligence startup Groq to license its chip technology and bring...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: American consumers once again proved to be the backbone of the U.S. economy, pushing growth to its fastest pace in...
(Photo credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images) Kawhi Leonard scored 26 of his game-high 33 points in a runaway first half and the...
(Photo credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images) Cade Cunningham scored 27 points and dished out 11 assists as the visiting Detroit Pistons...
