James Harden scored 21 points to go along with 12 assists, Ivica Zubac added 21 points and 19 rebounds and the Los Angeles Clippers earned a 116-102 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night in the first game between the teams at Inglewood, Calif., since March 1999.
Norman Powell scored 22 points and Kawhi Leonard had 19 in his fifth game of the season as the Clippers won their fourth consecutive game overall and improved to 15-6 in their new $2 billion arena.
Leonard was 9-for-13 from the field and added four assists while matching a season high by playing 24 minutes. He missed the first three months of the campaign due to a knee injury. Zubac added three blocks against his former team.
LeBron James scored 25 points and dished out 11 assists and Anthony Davis had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Lakers, who lost their third consecutive road game and fell for the fourth time in their past six games overall.
Rui Hachimura scored 19 points and Austin Reaves added 14 before leaving late in the game due to a knee injury for the Lakers, who previously played at Great Western Forum in Inglewood from 1967-99.
The Clippers led 32-26 after one quarter and took charge by outscoring the Lakers by nine points in the second quarter to take a 64-49 lead into halftime. Powell scored 14 points in the opening half as the Clippers shot 57.8 percent from the floor.
Leonard scored eight points in the third quarter, and the Clippers led by as many as 26 points in the frame before the Lakers went on an 11-0 run late in the period to pull within 90-75. The Clippers took a 92-77 advantage into the fourth quarter.
The Lakers were within 96-85 with 8:04 remaining before the Clippers turned a timeout into a 6-0 run and took a 102-85 lead with 6:10 remaining.
The Lakers’ Max Christie matched up against his brother Cam Christie of the Clippers for the first time in an NBA game as they squared off over the final minute. Cam Christie scored one point in his second career game, while Max Christie had 10 points.
–Field Level Media
