SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Kawhi Leonard had 23 points, eight rebounds and four assists and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the short-handed Golden State Warriors 114-101 on Monday night, erasing a 17-point deficit.
Darius Garland scored 12 points and played nearly 23 minutes off the bench in his Clippers debut, his first game since being acquired from Cleveland at last month’s trade deadline that sent James Harden to the Cavaliers.
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Garland, who had been nursing a toe injury, went down after colliding with Moses Moody with 1:26 left in the second quarter. Moody’s right shoulder appeared to hit Garland in the face as they were both scrambling for the ball. Both players were shocked but remained in the game.
With 3 minutes and 09 seconds left in the third quarter, Garland hit a three-pointer and the Clippers chased the score to 75-68. Then Kris Dunn made a steal and layup to chase the score to 5 points. Los Angeles led 79-77 entering the final 12 minutes.
Dunn scored 16 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists for the Clippers, who made only 9 of 31 three-pointers. Los Angeles went on a 9-4 spurt in the fourth quarter to lead 88-81.
Brandin Podemski scored 22 points for the Warriors, Stephen Curry missed his 11th straight game with a right knee injury and big man Kristaps Porzingis missed his fifth straight game with what coach Steve Kerr called a “mysterious” ailment. Rookie Will Richard was wearing a walking boot after spraining his right ankle in Saturday’s tough home loss to the Lakers.
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Al Horford contributed 17 points for Golden State, which made 5 of 7 shots and 9 of 14 shots. Podzimski initially made 8 of 12 shots and hit 3 3-pointers, scoring 20 points in the first half for the second time in his career, but after the break he scored two points on 1 of 6 shots.
Next
Clippers: Host Indiana on Wednesday.
Warriors: Begin a three-game trip Thursday at Houston.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA
