James Harden had 22 points and nine assists and Derrick Jones Jr. added 17 points as the Los Angeles Clippers extended their winning streak to four games with a 104-88 victory Friday against the visiting Sacramento Kings at Inglewood, Calif.
Kevin Porter Jr. scored 14 points, Amir Coffey had 11 and Ivica Zubac added 10 points with 15 rebounds as the Clippers extended their home winning streak to seven games after losing the first four contests in their new arena.
Los Angeles won consecutive games without leading scorer Norman Powell (23.3 points per game), who is out with a left hamstring strain.
The Clippers improved to 1-1 and the Kings fell to 0-2 in West Group A of the NBA Cup.
De’Aaron Fox scored 29 points and Domantas Sabonis added 24 points with 15 rebounds after missing the previous two games with a back injury. DeMar DeRozan chipped in 16 points after missing three games with his own back issue.
Los Angeles took charge early, leading by as many as 14 points in the first quarter to take a 26-12 lead as Sacramento was held to 19 percent shooting from the floor.
It was more of the same in the second quarter as the Kings were limited to 17 points and Los Angeles took a 51-29 lead into halftime. It was the lowest-scoring half by any team in the NBA this season.
Sacramento came to life in the third quarter, cutting what was once a 25-point deficit to seven at 58-51 less than six minutes into the second half. The Clippers held a 76-64 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Again the Kings got within single digits at 96-88 with 2:46 remaining before the Clippers put away the victory with an 8-0 run. Sacramento missed seven 3-point attempts in the final 2:09.
The Clippers held an opponent under 100 points for the third consecutive game and for the fifth time in their past 10 games. Los Angeles grabbed a season-high 54 rebounds Friday.
The Clippers committed 12 turnovers one game after they turned it over a season-high 25 times in a victory over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday.
–Field Level Media
