Paul George scored 26 points and Kawhi Leonard had a season-high 25 points with nine rebounds as the Los Angeles Clippers returned from an East Coast road trip to earn a 113-93 victory over the visiting Boston Celtics on Monday.
Marcus Morris Sr. scored 13 points as the Clippers took the lead for good in the second quarter and led by double digits for most of the second half while earning the victory over the team with the top record in the NBA.
Jaylen Brown scored 21 points and Jayson Tatum had 20 points with 11 rebounds as the Celtics lost consecutive games for just the second time this season. Boston fell to the Golden State Warriors 123-107 on Saturday in a rematch of last season’s NBA Finals.
Malcolm Brogdon scored 18 points for the Celtics, who are 3-2 on a six-game road trip, which matches a season long. Boston was held under 100 points for the first time this season and had reached triple digits for 32 consecutive games going back to last season.
The Clippers led by as many as 12 points just over 10 minutes into the game and held a 29-25 advantage after one quarter. They were on top 56-47 at halftime. Los Angeles shot 48.8 percent in the first half and forced Boston into nine turnovers.
A 7-0 run late in the third quarter gave the Clippers their biggest lead of the game to that point at 88-70 and Los Angeles took an 88-72 advantage into the fourth.
Boston never got within 14 points in the fourth quarter as Los Angeles finished off the victory with some help from Luke Kennard, who had 12 points.
The Clippers shot 48.9 percent from the field as Leonard and George played together for just the eighth time this season. The Celtics shot 43.4 percent.
Grant Williams scored 14 points as the Celtics played without Al Horford (personal) for the fourth consecutive game. Boston will remain in Los Angeles and face the rival Lakers on Tuesday.
–Field Level Media
