Sunday 23 February 2020 07:00, UK
Kent Bazemore scored a season-high 23 points off the bench, while De’Aaron Fox and Bogdan Bogdanovic added 20 points each as the Sacramento Kings defeated the host Los Angeles Clippers 112-103 on Saturday.
Harry Giles III had 14 points and 12 rebounds, while Harrison Barnes chipped in 13 points for Sacramento. Nemanja Bjelica contributed 10 points and seven rebounds. Fox had a team-high eight assists for the Kings, who have won five of their last seven.
Kawhi Leonard scored 31 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Clippers, who lost their third in a row. Lou Williams finished with 24 points and Montrezl Harrell had 16 points and 10 rebounds off the bench for Los Angeles.
The Clippers played without Paul George (hamstring) and Patrick Beverley (groin).
A free throw by Fox tied the score 101-all with 5:21 remaining. Two free throws by Bazemore and a three-pointer by Bogdanovic with 2:33 left put the Kings up 107-101.
Giles slammed an alley-oop pass from Bogdanovic with 58 seconds left for a 109-101 advantage. After Leonard ended the Clippers' scoring drought with a bucket to slice the deficit to six, Fox scored on a drive in the lane to put the lead back to eight.
Los Angeles trailed by as much as 14 in the third quarter before rallying. A 12-2 surge allowed the Clippers to pull within 83-79 after a 3-pointer by Williams with 1:57 left in the third. Sacramento led 88-83 heading into the fourth.
The Clippers started slowly, missing 20 of their 24 first-quarter shots from the floor as the Kings coasted to a 25-13 lead. It was the lowest output in a quarter this season for Los Angeles.
The Clippers cut the gap to 54-48 at the break. Both teams struggled offensively in the first half, with the Kings shooting 39.6 percent compared with 33.3 percent for the Clippers. Overall, the Kings shot 44.9 percent to 39.1 percent for the Clippers.
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