By Adrian Stewart Co
Kawhi Leonard achieved a personal milestone as the Los Angeles Clippers pulled off a 130-127 escape over Chicago Bulls in the 2020-2021 NBA Season on Sunday night (Monday in the Philippines) at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
Leonard nailed his 10,000th point in the NBA during his 21-point outburst in the third quarter that helped the Clippers turned things around against the gritty Bulls. He ended the night with season-best 35 points.
Paul George added 28 markers, Lou Williams contributed 21 points and Marcus Morris Sr. and Serge Ibaka ended up with 11 and 10 markers, respectively, for the Clippers (7-4).
Down by as much as 13 points in the opening quarter, the Clippers played catch up in the third quarter behind Leonard, George and Williams to level the count at 94-all.
The Bulls regained the lead at 119-118 in the fourth quarter before Nicolas Batum anchored Clippers’ finishing kick for a 126-119 edge. Chicago rallied to within 125-126 but free throws by George sealed the win for the Clippers.
Zach LaVine finished the match with 45 points, while Garrett Temple and rookie Patrick Williams added 18 and 17 markers, respectively, as the Bulls dropped to 4-7.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma City Thunder (5-4) leaned on a huge second half rally to pull off an upset over the Brooklyn Nets (5-6). Shai Gilgeous-Alexander top-scored with 31 points.
Denver Nuggets (5-5) tallied its second straight win by defeating New York Knicks (5-5), 114-89. Nikola Jokić finished the match with 22 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for the Nuggets.
Utah Jazz (6-4) cruised to a 96-86 victory over the Detroit Pistons (2-8). Donovan Mitchell top-scored with 28 points, while Filipino-American guard Jordan Clarkson ended up with 18 points.
BOX SCORE:
LOS ANGELES 130 — Leonard 35, George 28, Williams 21, Morris 11, Ibaka 10, Batum 8, Beverley 7, Zubac 5, Kennard 5, Mann 0.
CHICAGO 127 — LaVine 45, Temple 18, Williams 17, Young 14, Carter 12, Valentine 10, White 9, Gafford 2, Mokoka 0.
Quarterscores: 22-31, 52-59, 94-94, 130-127./ASC, WDJ