James Harden scored 29 points, and Kawhi Leonard added 17 with the game-winning basket at the overtime buzzer as the Los Angeles Clippers helped their playoff prospects by rallying for a 111-110 victory over the visiting Sacramento Kings on Sunday at Inglewood, Calif.
Ivica Zubac scored 22 points with 14 rebounds and Derrick Jones Jr. also had 17 for the Clippers, who were without leading scorer Norman Powell (hamstring) for the ninth time in the past 10 games. Los Angeles also was without head coach Tyronn Lue because of back pain, while assistant coach Brian Shaw led the team.
The Clippers clinched the season series against the Kings by winning the first three of four games between the teams and own the playoff tiebreaker. Eighth-place Los Angeles gained a game on ninth-place Sacramento in the Western Conference.
DeMar DeRozan scored 31 points with 10 assists and Zach LaVine added 30 points for the Kings, who lost for the second time in their last seven games and fell to 8-6 since LaVine made his debut with the team on Feb. 5.
Jonas Valanciunas grabbed 17 rebounds with nine points and Keegan Murray had 15 points for Sacramento, which is 4-2 in a stretch where it plays seven of nine games on the road.
DeRozan made two free throws with 21.6 seconds remaining in OT to give the Kings a 110-109 lead. Leonard won it for the Clippers as he ran out the clock from long range then drove into the lane, making a left-handed shot from 8 feet to win the game at the buzzer.
The Clippers led 83-81 with 7:13 remaining in regulation after a floater from Bogdan Bogdanovic before the Kings turned a 9-2 run into a 90-85 advantage with 4:14 remaining.
A 7-0 Clippers run, capped by a Harden floater with 11.9 seconds remaining, tied the game at 97-all. LaVine missed a potential game winner from 18 feet at the regulation buzzer after his shot bounced on the rim multiple times.
The Kings led 23-20 after one quarter before the Clippers turned a 61.9-percent shooting performance (13 of 21) in the second quarter into a 51-49 lead at halftime.
–Field Level Media
