UNDATED (AP) — The Los Angeles Clippers struggled again on Sunday, one game and two days after blowing a 21-point lead in a 10-point loss to Golden State. This time, the Clippers fell behind early before posting a 130-127 win over the Chicago Bulls.
Kawhi Leonard pumped in 35 points and Paul George added 28 with nine assists and seven assists. George had four points in the final minute to help the Clippers improve to 7-4.
Lou Williams contributed 21 points for Los Angeles, which trailed by nine heading into the second quarter.
The Bulls lost despite a 45-point eruption by Zach LaVine who also had seven rebounds and seven assists.
In Sunday’s other NBA action:
— The Lakers won for the sixth time in seven games as Anthony Davis had 27 points and LeBron James added 18 in a 120-102 decision over the Rockets. Davis helped the Lakers finish with 62 points in the paint during a game in which they led by as many as 27. It was a testy game that included five technical fouls, two flagrant fouls and the first-half ejections of Markieff Morris and DeMarcus Cousins.
— The Nuggets blew out the Knicks, 114-89 as Nikola Jokic provided 22 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in just 30 minutes. Gary Harris added 14 points for the Nuggets, who got only nine from star guard Jamal Murray. Denver has won four of five since a 1-4 start.
— Damion Lee canned a pair of free throws with 3.3 seconds remaining to push the Warriors past the Raptors, 106-105. Andrew Wiggins had 17 points and matched his career high with four blocked shots for Golden State, which nearly squandered away a game it led by 17. The Warriors won despite a woeful shooting performance by Stephen Curry, who shot 2 of 16 and missed nine of his 10 3s for 11 points after scoring 143 over his previous four games.
— Shea Gilgeous-Alexander poured in 31 points and Hamidou Diallo had 25 off the bench in the Thunder’s 129-116 comeback win at Brooklyn. Al Horford furnished 22 points and hit three of Oklahoma City’s 15 e-pointers. Kevin Durant returned from a two-game COVID absence and had 36 points for the Nets, who led by six before being outscored, 37-18 in the third quarter.
— Donovan Mitchell scored 13 of his 28 points in a decisive first quarter that carried the Jazz to a 96-86 victory over the Pistons. Mike Conley had 22 points for Utah, which went on a 17-0 run to go up by 20 through 12 minutes. Jerami Grant scored 28 points for the Pistons, who cut the deficit to six late in the third quarter.
— The Timberwolves’ seven-game losing streak is over after D’Angelo Russell contributed 27 points, five rebounds and five assists in a 96-88 win over the Spurs. Russell scored eight in the fourth quarter, including a 3-pointer to tie the score with 7:02 left and two free throws to ice it with 31.5 seconds remaining. Malik Beasley added 24 points to help the Wolves get their first win since Dec. 26.
