Kawhi Leonard's 45 points with bloodied nose lead Clippers to 6th straight win, 118-101 over Jazz
- - Kawhi Leonard's 45 points with bloodied nose lead Clippers to 6th straight win, 118-101 over Jazz
BETH HARRIS January 2, 2026 at 7:22 AM
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1 / 4Jazz Clippers BasketballLos Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) looks to dunk during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Kawhi Leonard scored 45 points, James Harden added 20 and the Los Angeles Clippers recovered from blowing a 21-point lead to beat the Utah Jazz 118-101 on Thursday night, extending their winning streak to a season-best six games.
Leonard was the only Clippers starter on the floor for much of the fourth quarter. He singlehandedly matched Utah's points in the period (20), with blood on his nose from what appeared to be a scratch.
Los Angeles hit seven straight 3-pointers, with Leonard making four, to pull away. Nicolas Batum finished with 14 points and went 4 of 6 from 3-point range.
The Jazz rallied despite being without three starters. They were led by reserve Kyle Anderson with 22 points — his first 20-point game in nearly three years — and Brice Sensabaugh with 20. Anderson's eight rebounds were a season high. Cody Williams had 18 points, while Isaiah Collier added 16 points and 10 assists.
The game was tied six times in the third period, when Utah took its first lead.
The Clippers outscored Utah 28-7 to start the game. The Jazz missed their first six shots and had one rebound in the first six minutes.
Utah outscored the Clippers 33-22 in the second — when Leonard scored LA's first nine points — to trail 53-50 at halftime.
Utah played without Keyonte George (illness), Lauri Markkanen (knee) and Jusuf Nurkic (toe). The Jazz have dropped six of eight.
The Jazz had 58 points in the paint and their bench outscored the Clippers' reserves 51-40.
Up next
Jazz: Visit the Golden State Warriors on Saturday.
Clippers: Host the Boston Celtics on Saturday.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA
Source: “AOL Sports”
