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Jan 9, 2026; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Los Angeles Clippers ahead Kawhi Leonard (2) shoots a 3 level shot in opposition to Brooklyn Nets ahead Danny Wolf (2) throughout the second quarter at Barclays Middle. Necessary Credit score: Brad Penner-Imagn Photographs As soon as a significant disappointment, the Los Angeles Clippers are actually the NBA’s hottest staff. They are going to be out to increase their run of success throughout a go to from the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday in Inglewood, Calif.
Greater than a month faraway from their 6-21 begin to the season, the Clippers are actually 14-3 since Dec. 20 and have bookended that run with victories over the cross-town Los Angeles Lakers, together with one Thursday.
The Clippers’ identification has modified a lot that their 112-104 victory over the Lakers this week got here with some disappointment. They led by as many as 26 factors within the third quarter, then watched the Lakers pull inside three with 1:28 left earlier than closing out the win.
“We obtained to do a greater job of caring for the basketball,” Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue mentioned. “We knew they had been going to junk the sport up. They obtained down 26 and began blitzing and firing, and we ready for it; we simply did not deal with it nicely. However our guys simply stayed the course and located a option to win the sport.”
Kawhi Leonard returned from a three-game absence due to a left knee contusion to attain 24 factors, whereas James Harden added 18 factors with 10 assists. Middle Ivica Zubac led the cost inside with 18 factors and a season-high-tying 19 rebounds.
“(It was) his means to scrub up missed photographs across the basket, a pair kickouts for (3-pointers),” Lue mentioned. “They had been going small, and I believed Zu did a very good job of simply exhibiting his presence as an enormous man, and it was large for us.”
The Nets have been the precise reverse of the Clippers with a 2-12 document since Dec. 29, however they managed to take the Boston Celtics to double additional time Friday earlier than falling 130-126.
Michael Porter Jr. scored 30 factors within the loss, whereas rookie Nolan Tarore had a career-high 21. The impressed effort got here after Brooklyn absorbed a 120-66 loss in opposition to the New York Knicks on Wednesday.
“From coaches to gamers, there’s a lot for us to be taught,” mentioned the Nets’ Nic Claxton, who scored 18 factors with 9 rebounds. “It is a powerful loss, clearly, so we simply have to look at the movie and get higher from it.”
Brooklyn trailed 101-91 with 3:06 remaining in regulation earlier than making the late cost with Claxton delivering the follow-up dunk off a Porter missed 3-pointer to tie the rating 104-104 with 1.9 seconds remaining.
“We made a few errors (on protection) and people errors, on this league, an excellent staff makes you pay,” Brooklyn head coach Jordi Fernandez mentioned. “They made 22 threes, and that was one in every of our keys of the sport, to defend the 3-point line.”
Now the Nets face the Clippers, whose revival has include Leonard taking pictures extra 3-pointers. Leonard averaged six photographs from 3-point vary over his first 17 video games earlier than boosting that to eight.8 over the staff’s improved 17-game run, the place he has scored 32.1 factors per contest.
–Area Stage Media
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