Kawhi Leonard completed a tiebreaking three-point play with two seconds remaining to lift the visiting Los Angeles Clippers to a 105-102 comeback victory over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.
Leonard scored 19 of his game-high 27 points in the fourth quarter to lead the rally from a 15-point deficit. His spinning fadeaway came despite a foul from Jae’Sean Tate and gave the Clippers their final lead in a back-and-forth closing period. Tari Eason missed a corner 3-pointer at the buzzer for the Rockets.
Leonard, who added a team-high 12 rebounds plus a game-high four steals, paced six Clippers in double figures. Kris Dunn and Bennedict Mathurin scored 16 points apiece while Brook Lopez had 15. John Collins and Derrick Jones Jr. chipped in 12 points each for the Clippers, who outscored the Rockets 22-2 in fastbreak points and converted Houston’s 21 turnovers into 23 points.
Kevin Durant led Houston with 21 points while Reed Sheppard added 17 points and five 3-pointers off the bench. Jabari Smith Jr. (16 points, 12 rebounds) chipped in a double-double while Alperen Sengun posted 16 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Sengun missed a free throw with 7.2 seconds left that would have given the Rockets the lead.
The Clippers bridged the final two periods with a 26-6 run that resulted in an 87-80 lead on two Leonard free throws with 8:11 left. The Rockets committed three early turnovers in the period that the Clippers converted into six points.
After struggling from deep on Tuesday, the Clippers made 4 of 8 3-pointers in the opening frame. The Rockets countered by making 9 of 12 from inside the arc with assists on eight of their 12 field goals in the period en route to a 29-22 lead entering the second quarter.
Sheppard keyed the Rockets’ surge to a 15-point lead in the second, stroking three 3-pointers while tallying 11 points in the first 4:30 of the frame. When Durant sank a fadeaway jumper with 1:27 left in the half, the Rockets led 56-41, a lead the Clippers shaved to 10 by the intermission.
