NBA Roundup: Clippers’ 35-Point Comeback Stuns Wizards

LA Clippers guard Luke Kennard (5) reacts after making a three-point basket while being fouled late in the fourth quarter against the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena, in Washington, on Jan. 25, 2022. Brad Mills/USA TODAY Sports via Field Level Media

Luke Kennard converted a four-point play with 1.9 seconds to play as the visiting Los Angeles Clippers overcame a 35-point deficit to post a 116–115 victory over the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night.

The result tied the second-largest comeback in NBA history, when the Sacramento Kings escaped a 35-point hole against the Chicago Bulls on Dec. 21, 2009. The record was the Utah Jazz overturning a 36-point deficit to defeat the Denver Nuggets on Nov. 27, 1996.

The Wizards held a 115–109 lead with 11.2 seconds remaining before Kennard halved the deficit with a 3-pointer. Washington’s Kyle Kuzma was whistled for a five-second inbound violation, and Kennard a 3-pointer while being fouled by Bradley Beal. Kennard sank the ensuing foul shot to give Los Angeles its first lead of the game and the improbable victory.

Amir Coffey scored 29 points and Kennard finished with 25 off the bench as the Clippers improved to 2–2 on their eight-game road trip. Beal collected 23 points and nine rebounds and Kuzma added 19 and 12, respectively, for the Wizards, who took their fourth straight loss.

Lakers 106, Nets 96

LeBron James totaled 33 points, seven rebounds and six assists as Los Angeles led most of the way and recorded a win over Brooklyn in New York.

The Lakers led for the final 37:45, improved to 2–1 on their six-game road trip and welcomed Anthony Davis back after the center missed 17 games with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee. He finished with eight points in 25 minutes. The Lakers had gone 7–10 without him.

James Harden notched a triple-double of 33 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists, but it was not nearly enough as the Nets dropped to 2–3 since losing Kevin Durant to a sprained left knee on Jan. 15.

Celtics 128, Kings 75

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined to score 66 points as host Boston throttled Sacramento for its seventh win in 10 games.

Tatum finished with a game-high 36 points and six assists, while Brown put up 30 points and 10 rebounds. Robert Williams III scored 13 and pounded the boards for a game-high 17 rebounds. The Celtics led by as many as 60 points but fell short of a franchise-record 56-point victory in a 133–77 rout of Chicago in 2018.

Buddy Hield was the only scorer to reach double figures for the Kings, finishing with 11 points on 4-of-14 shooting. Sacramento dropped its fourth straight game and has lost nine of 11 overall.

Warriors 130, Mavericks 92

Jonathan Kuminga led a balanced attack with 22 points off the bench as Golden State found its offensive form in a thrashing of Dallas at San Francisco.

The Mavericks took more than just their second loss in its last three games, however. Key reserve Tim Hardaway Jr. broke a bone in his left foot on a drive to the hoop midway through the second quarter.

Stephen Curry shot 2-for-10 from 3-point range and wound up with 18 points, nine rebounds and a game-high seven assists for the Warriors. Luka Doncic notched 25 points and eight rebounds for the Mavericks.

76ers 117, Pelicans 107

Joel Embiid had 42 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and four blocked shots to lift host Philadelphia past New Orleans.

Tobias Harris added 33 points and 11 rebounds and Furkan Korkmaz contributed 13 points for the 76ers, who have won three of their past four games.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker led the Pelicans with 31 points, and Willy Hernangomez added a career-high 29 points to go along with 10 rebounds. New Orleans had a two-game winning streak snapped.

Timberwolves 109, Trail Blazers 107

Anthony Edwards scored 40 points and D'Angelo Russell was credited with the decisive basket with 2.9 seconds left as Minnesota rallied for a win at Portland. Anfernee Simons was called for goaltending on Russell’s layup after CJ McCollum’s 3-pointer tied the game at 107 with 10.5 seconds left.

Minnesota escaped with its eighth win in its last 11 games after Simons missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer. Russell scored 22 points while Karl-Anthony Towns tallied 17 points and 17 rebounds for Minnesota.

Nassir Little recorded 20 points and eight rebounds for the Trail Blazers before leaving midway through the fourth quarter due to a strained left shoulder. Portland’s Jusuf Nurkic added 20 points and 14 rebounds.

Nuggets 110, Pistons 105

Nikola Jokic collected 28 points, 21 rebounds and nine assists and Denver defeated host Detroit for the second time in three nights.

Jeff Green had 20 points and Aaron Gordon contributed 16 points, five rebounds and five assists as the Nuggets overcame 25 turnovers.

Rookie Cade Cunningham carried the Pistons with a season-high 34 points as well as eight rebounds and eight assists and a season-high four blocks. Saddiq Bey had 21 points.

Raptors 125, Hornets 113

Pascal Siakam recorded 24 points and nine rebounds and matched a career best with 12 assists as host Toronto defeated Charlotte.

Gary Trent Jr. scored 14 of his season-best 32 points in the third quarter for the Raptors, who won for just the third time in the past eight games. OG Anunoby added 24 points.

LaMelo Ball scored 25 points for the Hornets, who lost their second straight after winning three in a row. Miles Bridges added 22 points and James Bouknight netted 18.

Spurs 134, Rockets 104

Dejounte Murray recorded a double-double and Keldon Johnson added 16 points as San Antonio handed Houston its ninth consecutive home loss.

Murray paired 19 points with 10 assists while Jakob Poeltl chipped in 18 points and nine boards. That tandem combined to shoot 17 of 28 to spearhead a breathtaking offense: San Antonio shot 57.4 percent while recording 38 assists on 58 field goals.

Kevin Porter Jr. had 16 points, nine assists and five rebounds for the Rockets. Christian Wood tallied 15 points and seven rebounds.