Kawhi Leonard had 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists as the visiting Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Toronto Raptors 115-96 on Tuesday night at Tampa.
Ivica Zubac added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Clippers (46-23) in the opener of their four-game road trip as they try to clinch third place in the Western Conference.
Terance Mann had 20 points on 7-for-7 shooting off the bench for Los Angeles. Paul George had 16 points, Marcus Morris Sr. scored 14 points, Rajon Rondo had 11 points and Nicolas Batum had five points and nine rebounds.
Chris Boucher scored 16 points and had seven rebounds for the depleted Raptors, who have lost four in a row and were eliminated from playoff contention when the Indiana Pacers beat the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night.
Khem Birch added 13 points for Toronto, while Freddie Gillespie, Jalen Harris and DeAndre' Bembry each scored 10 points.
After leading by as many as 12 points, the Clippers were ahead 27-19 after one quarter.
Mann's 3-pointer gave the Clippers a 13-point lead with 6:26 remaining in the second quarter.
The lead reached 17 on Morris' 3-pointer with 3:16 to go in the first half. Malachi Flynn's 3-pointer completed the scoring in the first half and cut the Clippers' lead to 60-52.
The Clippers led by 13 on Leonard's layup with 6:42 left in the third quarter. Leonard bumped the lead to 17 on two free throws with 3:14 remaining. The lead reached 18 before the Raptors scored the final four points of the third quarter, trimming the deficit to 85-71.
The Clippers took a 14-point lead into the fourth quarter. The lead reached 18 points on Batum's dunk with 9:13 remaining. Mann made two free throws to increase the lead to 19 with 5:37 to play.
OG Anunoby (calf), Kyle Lowry (rest), Fred VanVleet (hip), Pascal Siakam (shoulder) and Rodney Hood (hand) did not play for Toronto.
--Field Level Media
L.A. Clippers | Toronto | |
Kawhi Leonard 20 | Scoring | Chris Boucher 16 |
Kawhi Leonard 5 | Assists | Malachi Flynn 4 |
Ivica Zubac 10 | Rebounds | Chris Boucher 7 |
Kawhi Leonard 8 | Free Throws Made | Chris Boucher 4 |
DeMarcus Cousins 2 | Steals | DeAndre' Bembry 3 |
Nicolas Batum 1 | Blocks | Freddie Gillespie 3 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
L.A. Clippers | 115 | 50.0 | 11-32 | 26-26 | 25 | 49 | 4 | 10 | 18 |
Toronto | 96 | 40.7 | 10-37 | 16-19 | 21 | 35 | 8 | 10 | 13 |