The surging Los Angeles Clippers aim to keep rolling on Sunday when they continue a four-game road trip against the Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers.
Los Angeles (42-31) opened the crucial trek through the East with a pair of double-digit-point wins, beating the New York Knicks 126-113 on Wednesday and blowing out the Brooklyn Nets 132-100 on Friday.
Kawhi Leonard scored 31 points in only 27 minutes, extending his streak of consecutive games with at least 23 points to eight. Leonard has also played in seven straight games, his second-longest stretch of availability in an injury-plagued campaign.
“Unfortunate things have happened to me where some of it falls on getting deep into the playoffs, but it’s always a blessing to have a winning season,” Leonard told reporters after Friday’s win sealed the Clippers’ 14th consecutive season with a winning record.
Unfortunately, Leonard’s streak will come to a close, as he will be out on Sunday (right knee injury management).
The Clippers are 7-1 since March 12, and 10-2 since March 5. The stretch includes a 132-119 home victory over the Cavaliers on March 18, when Leonard had a game-high 33 points.
The Clippers were in sixth place in the West heading into Saturday’s play, tied with the Golden State Warriors but holding the series head-to-head edge. Los Angeles is just two games behind the Memphis Grizzlies and its crosstown counterpart Los Angeles Lakers in pursuit of the No. 4 seed and home-court advantage in the first round.
Even without Leonard, the Clippers are a formidable foe. They are 23-20 without their star forward this season. James Harden and Norman Powell should take on larger offensive roles.
Cleveland (59-15) maintains its lead atop the East, 4 1/2 games ahead of reigning NBA champion Boston Celtics entering Saturday’s play. However, the Cavaliers have endured their least successful stretch of the season following a 133-122 road loss to the Detroit Pistons on Friday.
The setback marked Cleveland’s fifth loss in the last eight games and ended a three-game winning streak that followed the Cavaliers’ longest losing skid of the campaign.
A recent issue for Cleveland that contributed to Friday’s loss has been surrendering offensive rebounds. Opponents average 11.6 offensive boards per game against the Cavaliers, and with Detroit grabbing 16, Cleveland has allowed more than its average in eight consecutive games.
“It’s hard. You get a stop, and then you (give up) two, three extra shots at the rim,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said. “It’s not sustainable. Between the offensive rebounds and the free throws, it just kills your defense.”
Los Angeles is not especially prolific on the offensive glass at 10.4 per game. But the Clippers’ aggressive defensive style, with the NBA’s fourth-lowest point-per-game yield at 108.4, results in just 42 opponents rebounds a contest (second-fewest in the league).
Ivica Zubac’s 12.5 rebounds lead the Clippers and ranks fourth in the NBA.
Sunday’s interior battle, with Zubac against the Cleveland frontcourt duo of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, will play a key part in shaping the contest.
Cleveland’s backcourt of Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland — averaging team-highs of 24.0 and 20.7 points, respectively — faces the Los Angeles tandem of Harden and Powell.
Harden has averaged a team-best 22.5 points, just ahead of Powell’s 22.4-point output.
–Field Level Media
