Leonard, Clippers extend win streak to 9 by holding off Mavs rally in 120-111 victory
DALLAS (AP) — Kawhi Leonard scored 30 points, and the Los Angeles Clippers held on after leading by 22, extending their win streak to nine games with a 120-111 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night.
Norman Powell scored 21 points off the bench with Paul George sidelined by an illness, and James Harden had 17 points and 11 assists. The Clippers are on their longest winning streak since a 10-game run in 2015-16.
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Dallas star Luka Doncic’s franchise record of 11 consecutive games with at least 30 points ended with 28 in a sixth straight game without All-Star guard Kyrie Irving, who has a bruised right heel.
Doncic recorded his sixth triple-double by getting 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
DALLAS, TEXAS - DECEMBER 20: Kawhi Leonard #2 of the LA Clippers drives to the basket against Dwight Powell #7 of the Dallas Mavericks in the second half at American Airlines Center on December 20, 2023 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Tim Heitman/Getty I
With the Clippers leading by one late in the fourth quarter, Leonard, who also had 10 rebounds, hit a layup and assisted on a three-point play by Powell.
The five-time All-Star then had a dunk and a layup on either side of two missed free throws from Doncic as part of a 9-0 run that made it 120-110 with 52 seconds remaining.
Powell tied his season high in scoring, and Amir Coffey scored 12 points in his second start of the season, both in the past four games with George sidelined.
Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 21 points for Dallas, and Derrick Jones Jr. had 19.
In addition to Irving, Dallas is without rookie center Dereck Lively II because of a sprained ankle and guard Josh Green, who has a sprained elbow.
The Dallas rally kicked into gear with an unusual sequence in the final minute of the first half after the Mavericks trailed by 22 midway through the second quarter.
Hardaway had three misses on the same possession, dropping him to 1 of 10, before getting a fourth shot and hitting a 3. Grant Williams had two of the three offensive rebounds.
Thirty seconds later, Hardaway beat the first-half buzzer with a 29-foot 3-pointer to get the Mavericks within 11 at 67-56, the closest they had been since early in the second quarter.
UP NEXT
Clippers: At Oklahoma City on Thursday to finish a back-to-back and wrap up a three-game trip sandwiched between four-game homestands.
Mavericks: At Houston on Friday.