Clippers remain on roll, take advantage of struggling Nets
Kawhi Leonard scored 28 points in 25 minutes and the Los Angeles Clippers continued their recent domination by sailing to a 126-89 victory over the visiting Brooklyn Nets on Sunday night.
James Harden had 19 points and eight assists and John Collins scored 18 points as Los Angeles won for the 15th in 19 games since bottoming out with a 6-21 start.
Jordan Miller had 16 points and seven rebounds off the bench and Ivica Zubac had 11 points and 10 boards for the Clippers. Leonard scored 20 or more points for the 24th consecutive appearance.
Danny Wolf scored 14 points off the bench and Egor Demin added 12 for the Nets, who have lost five straight games and 13 of their past 15 games.
High-scoring Michael Porter Jr. had just nine points in 22 minutes for Brooklyn.
Los Angeles shot 56.4% from the field, including 12 of 25 from 3-point range. The Clippers held a 51-36 rebounding advantage.
The Nets made 34.1% of their attempts and were a shaky 9 of 43 from behind the arc during the opener of a five-game road trip.
Leonard scored 15 of his 21 first-half points in the second quarter as Los Angeles led 68-37 at the break.
The score was 12-10 more than four-plus minutes into the game before the Clippers ran off 17 straight points.
Later, Los Angeles scored the first nine points of an 18-0 run to end the opening frame. Harden matched Brooklyn's total of 14 points as the Clippers led 38-14.
Leonard finished the big run with nine consecutive points, including two treys to make it 47-14 with 10:21 left in the half.
The lead reached 64-26 on a basket by Miller with 3:13 left in the half.
Collins scored 10 points in the third quarter as Los Angeles took a 96-66 advantage into the final stanza.
Brook Lopez buried a 3-pointer to make it 110-75 with 6:57 remaining and the Clippers led by as many as 40 while cruising to the finish.