LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Clippers were resilient and dominant in the second half to put away the Los Angeles Lakers, using the NBA’s marquee Christmas game to show why the city and the Western Conference might belong to them this season.
Kawhi Leonard scored 11 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter and had 12 rebounds and five assists to help the Clippers beat Lakers 111-106 on Wednesday night.
The Clippers trailed by 12 points at halftime, by 15 in the third quarter, and by seven in the fourth quarter with 6:39 remaining, but they rallied to improve to 2-0 against the Lakers this season.
“And we didn’t flinch,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. “Like, we just kind of hung in there. Almost felt like we were biding our time and just trying to make a run. That’s something you have to have when things aren’t going great for you. You just got to hang in there, and I thought we did that tonight.”
Leonard set a franchise record for points on Christmas, and he became the 10th player in NBA history with at least 35 points, 10 rebounds and five assists on Dec. 25.
Montrezl Harrell had 18 points off the bench, and Paul George added 17, and the Clippers are 15-2 at Staples Center.
“We have so many interchanging parts,” Clippers guard Lou Williams said. “We have guys that’s going to have big nights. I think I had five or six points tonight, and that’s just how this team is built. It’s going to be different guys every night.”
Kyle Kuzma led Los Angeles with 25 points. LeBron James had 23 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds, and Anthony Davis had 24 points. The Lakers have lost four straight games.
Williams made two free throws — after a questionable foul call against Davis for tapping the swingman after his transition layup rimmed out — to give the Clippers a 105-103 lead with 3:29 to go.
Leonard, who had a 3 to cap a 7-0 run and tie it at 101 with 5:14 remaining, then made four late free throws.
“They wanted it more,” Davis said. “We had a lot of mistakes down at the end of the game, mental mistakes at both ends of the floor. We fouled a lot in the fourth quarter, put them to the line. … We gave that one away.”
Los Angeles had a chance to tie in the final seconds, but video review showed James touched the ball last after Patrick Beverly knocked it away as James went up for a 3. George hit two free throws for the final margin.
“That wasn’t the game right there,” James said. “I mean, it’s a big play and you want to try to get it right, but it wasn’t where the game was lost.”
CELTICS 118, RAPTORS 102
TORONTO — Boston’s Jaylen Brown celebrated Christmas with something he had never enjoyed before: a road win at Toronto.
Brown scored 30 points, Kemba Walker had 22 and the Celtics beat the Raptors 118-102 Wednesday in the first Christmas Day NBA game played in Canada.
“It was good to get a win here on Christmas,” said Brown, who made five 3-pointers and shot 10 for 13 from the field. “I’ve never won here period, so it was great to just get one.”
Enes Kanter had 12 points and 11 rebounds as the Celtics snapped an eight-game losing streak north of the border and became the first Atlantic Division opponent to win in Toronto in more than four years.
The Celtics have won four straight to improve to 8-2 in December.
Boston’s Gordon Hayward returned to the starting lineup after missing the past three games because of a sore left foot. He scored 14 points in 26 minutes.
“It’s still a little sore but it’s playable,” Hayward said. “It’s good, it’s good.”
Fred VanVleet scored 27 points in the Raptors’ second straight loss, and Chris Boucher had a career-high 24.
“We weren’t quite physical enough, I thought, for most stretches of the game,” Toronto coach Nick Nurse said.
The Raptors are 2-2 since losing center Marc Gasol (left hamstring), guard Norman Powell (left shoulder) and forward Pascal Siakam (groin) to injuries. Nurse had no update on the status of the trio, but acknowledged their absence is making life difficult.
“Scoring is not very easy for us right now,” Nurse said. “It’s tough.”
Toronto had gone an NBA-record 34 games between home losses to division foes. The Raptors’ last home loss to an Atlantic team was a 111-109 defeat to the New York Knicks on Nov. 10, 2015.
Kyle Lowry scored 14 points and Serge Ibaka had 12 for Toronto. The Raptors shot 8 for 23 from 3-point range.
Kanter arrived dressed in a black t-shirt that read ‘Freedom for ALL’ in white letters. He played outside the United States for the first time since visiting Toronto with the Knicks on Nov. 10, 2018.
“Definitely amazing,” a smiling Kanter said. “I just can’t describe it with words. Just going out there was more than just a basketball game. For me, it was just going out there and living this freedom.”
Kanter’s outspoken criticism of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdodan’s government led to his passport being revoked in 2017. Turkish prosecutors have accused Kanter of membership in a terror organization and issued an international warrant for his arrest.
Kanter did not travel with the Knicks to London last January because he feared he could be killed over his opposition to Erdodan. After being traded to Portland in February, he did not join the Trail Blazers for their March 1 game at Toronto.
The Raptors jumped out to a 10-0 lead as the Celtics missed their first five shots of the game, leading to a Boston timeout with 10:03 left in the opening quarter. After the stoppage, the Celtics outscored Toronto 28-9 to lead 28-19 after one.
WARRIORS 116,
ROCKETS 104
SAN FRANCISCO — Draymond Green scored 16 of his 20 points in the second half, Damion Lee had 22 points and a career-high 15 rebounds and Golden State beat Houston.
D’Angelo Russell added 20 points, and Glenn Robinson III had 18 to help the Warriors win their third straight and end the Rockets’ four-game winning streak. Injury-ravaged Golden State improved to 8-24.
Russell Westbrook had 30 points and 12 rebounds for Houston. James Harden had 24 points and 11 assists, and Danuel House Jr. had 18 points.
Pelicans112,
Nuggets 100
DENVER (AP) — Brandon Ingram scored 31 points, Derrick Favors grabbed 13 rebounds and the New Orleans Pelicans surprised Denver 112-100 on Wednesday night to halt the Nuggets’ seven-game winning streak.
The 9-23 Pelicans are now 2-0 against the Nuggets this season. They spoiled the festive mood at the Pepsi Center as the Nuggets played at home on Christmas for the first time in 25 years.
New Orleans sprang the upset despite committing 19 turnovers. The Pelicans pulled away late courtesy of the long-range shooting of Lonzo Ball and Ingram. They also out-rebounded the Nuggets, including 14 offensive boards.
New Orleans finished a four-game trip with a 3-1 mark, which includes consecutive wins for the first time in a month.
Jrue Holiday had 20 points in the last of five Christmas games where the home teams went 2-3. This was the first time the Nuggets have hosted on the holiday since 1994 when they beat Seattle 105-96 in front of a sold-out crowd at McNichols Arena. The fans at Pepsi Center didn’t leave in a particularly merry mood.
Neither team led by more than eight points until Ball’s 3-pointer with 4:07 remaining made it 104-95. That all but sealed the win.
Nikola Jokic had 23 points and 10 rebounds for Denver, while Jerami Grant had 17.
The Pelicans also knocked off the Nuggets 122-107 on Halloween.
This looked like an entertaining matchup when the NBA schedules were released. But that was before rookie Zion Williamson had surgery to repair the lateral meniscus in his right knee on Oct. 21. On Wednesday, Williamson sat on the bench dressed in a dark suit.
