Clippers fend off Lakers’ 2nd-half rally in Kawhi Leonard’s return

INGLEWOOD — Kawhi Leonard was on the bench, his night seemingly over, as the Lakers climbed back into the game in the fourth quarter. But the Clippers star couldn’t sit still.

He returned to the court in the final two minutes on Thursday night to help seal a 112-104 victory over the Lakers in what had been billed as one of the NBA’s rivalry games. It lived up to the hype with high-scoring performances from the teams’ biggest stars, raucous fans and even a late-game skirmish at Intuit Dome.

The Clippers needed every one of Leonard’s 26 minutes to hold off the Lakers for their 14th win in the past 17 games and their second straight victory over their crosstown foes as they continue their climb from the depths of the Western Conference standings.

Without Leonard in the lineup, the Clippers (20-24) struggled to win close games and even lost one in a blowout earlier this week. With their star on the court, winning becomes somewhat easier.

Leonard returned to the lineup Thursday after sitting out the past three and scored 24 points on 9-of-19 shooting from the field and a 3-of-7 showing from 3-point range, extending his streak to a career-high 23 consecutive games with at least 20 points.

Although the game had Leonard’s fingerprints all over it, James Harden had 18 points and 10 assists and Ivica Zubac added 18 points and 19 rebounds for the Clippers, who had seven players in double figures.

Luka Doncic led the Lakers (26-17) with 32 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, but he couldn’t do it alone, though he tried.

He scored 11 points in the third quarter and the Lakers managed to cut the Clippers’ 26-point lead to 86-72 by the end of the period.

The Lakers took advantage of the Clippers’ increasing number of turnovers to cut the lead to 93-83 at the 9:20 mark of the fourth. They closed the gap to 93-87 on back-to-back jump shots by Marcus Smart, who added a free throw, and LeBron James.

A shot-clock violation by the Clippers gave the Lakers an opportunity to further trim the lead but they couldn’t find a quick opening, leaving the Clippers holding a 93-88 advantage. A minute later, Doncic hit a 3-pointer to cap a 19-7 run that cut the margin to 93-91 with just under six minutes left.

The Clippers responded with a 10-0 run to open a 103-91 lead as Doncic went silent, finishing the night with just three points in the final quarter.

Zubac and Vanderbilt got into a brief skirmish near the Clippers’ bench after pursuing a loose ball, each earning fouls with 4:04 remaining. Zubac then was fouled by James and he went to the line for two free throws to extend the lead 100-91.

The Lakers didn’t back down and went on an 11-2 surge to pull within 105-102 with 1:28 left, but that’s as close as they could get. Zubac’s reverse dunk and John Collins’ 3-pointer extended the Clippers’ lead to eight points and they closed it out on Harden’s pair of free throws.

James finished with 23 points, five rebounds and six assists, Rui Hachimura added 12 points and Smart had 10 as the Lakers dropped to 5-6 in their last 11 games.

Leonard was abruptly sent home from Washington before the Clippers faced the Wizards earlier this week, missing all three road games because of irritation in his left knee. He sat out the Clippers’ overtime victory against the Toronto Raptors last Friday, the first game of the trip.

His absence was felt in an uncomfortably close victory against the Wizards and a lopsided loss to the Chicago Bulls.

His return was immediately noticed, as he picked up where he left off. Leonard scored eight consecutive points during a stretch in the first quarter and had 14 on 6-of-9 shooting with two 3-pointers by halftime.

Leonard had been averaging 29.5 points and shooting 49.4% from the field and 42.5% from 3-point range in the month of January before being sidelined for eight days. Lue said Leonard had been more aggressive on offense this season.

“I think getting to his spots, and also shooting more 3s, which has allowed us to get to that 38 and 43 (points) per game, which we’ve been trying to do,” Lue said. “But just being more aggressive offensively, attacking the basket, getting to the free-throw line because usually he sells for the mid-range pull up, which he’s great at.

“But he’s been getting to the free-throw line.”

Leonard leads the league in free-throw shooting, making 97.3% of his foul shots.

“Just getting to the basket, getting to the free-throw line, he is being really good for us.”

More to come on this story.