The Clippers faced cross-town rival Lakers in the battle of LA Saturday night.
The Clippers snapped a 5-game losing streak to improve to 7-21 on the season. Kawhi Leonard led the Clippers team in scoring with a season-high 32 points.
Luka Dončić played briefly for the Lakers but didn’t return after halftime. He had 12 points and five rebounds in 19 minutes after missing his first six shots. LeBron James, who turns 41 on Dec. 30, led the Lakers with a season-high 36 points.
James Harden had 21 points and 10 assists for the Clippers. John Collins added 17 points and 12 rebounds. James Harden also made history on Saturday night; he’s now 12th in the NBA All-time assists list, passing Andre Miller.
The Clippers answered with back-to-back three-pointers by Collins and Harden to go with Leonard’s dunk off James’ turnover. The Lakers then ran off six in a row to close to 88-79. The Clippers remarkably hold off the Lakers for the 7th win of the season.
The Clippers had lost 12 of their last 15 to fall to the bottom of the Western Conference.
With the win, the Clippers are now 13th in the Western Conference standings and still need a lot of help to get back to the play-in position, though they are trending in the right direction.
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