Kawhi Leonard scored 29 points and celebrated his new three-year, $152.4 million contract extension Wednesday as the Los Angeles Clippers earned a 126-120 victory over the visiting Toronto Raptors.
Paul George also scored 29 points and Ivica Zubac added 12 points with 11 rebounds as the Clippers improved to 16-3 since the start of December. The Clippers won both home games in a span where they will play five of seven on the road and are 4-1 in the stretch so far.
James Harden, whose arrival in a trade from the Philadelphia 76ers in early November eventually led to Los Angeles’ improved play, scored 14 points with 11 assists. Norman Powell and Terance Mann each had 13 points.
Immanuel Quickley scored 25 points and RJ Barrett added 24 as the Raptors dropped consecutive games in Los Angeles following a 132-131 loss to the Lakers on Tuesday. Quickley and Barrett each were playing their sixth game for Toronto after a trade from the New York Knicks.
Dennis Schroder scored 22 points, while Scottie Barnes and Gary Trent Jr. each had 12 for the Raptors, who are 3-3 since the start of January after a 1-5 stretch.
In a competitive first half, Toronto led 29-28 after one quarter and Los Angeles moved in front 58-57 at halftime. The Raptors shot 58.1 percent in the first half, while the Clippers shot 48.9 percent.
The back-and-forth theme continued with the Raptors holding a 92-91 lead after three quarters as neither team held more than a seven-point lead to that point. There were 35 lead changes through the first three quarters and 36 in the game.
The Clippers opened a 97-92 lead with 11 minutes remaining and were up 103-95 with 9:05 left after a 6-0 run that was capped by a George jumper. Los Angeles made it 115-106 with 4:31 remaining on a layup from Harden.
The Raptors surged back with a 7-0 run, pulling to within 119-115 with 1:28 left after a 3-pointer from Barrett. Toronto got within 121-118 with 58.0 seconds left on a three-point play from Quickley.
George sealed the victory on a 3-pointer with 36.3 seconds left for a 124-118 lead and went 5 of 9 from long range.
–Field Level Media
