Kawhi Leonard leads the Clippers over the Bulls and passes the scoring milestone – Orange County Register

Los Angeles — Kawhi Leonard celebrated a milestone afternoon at Staples Center to abandon the “additional defender” who had been fond of him in the last six games.

Leonard wore a specially made plastic cover to protect his chin, as he suffered a mouth laceration that required eight needles for Christmas. He said he had difficulty breathing because he did not keep his aversion to the device secret. Coach Tyronn Lue said the team considers it a bonus defender.

Finally freed from contradictions for the first time since December 30, Leonard brought his team to life as he soared over Zach LaVine and the energetic Chicago Bulls. They played the Clippers up close with a Sunday Matinee 130-127 victory, even after LA woke up.

Leonard changed the course of action in the third quarter for the book. Among them, he exceeded 10,000 career points — the result of his receipt of the game ball — and a single-term career best of 21 points, hitting five three points in that 11:58 action. It was.

Ravine, who responded to many of the Clippers’ make-up in his basket on a single answering machine on Sunday, scored the highest 45 points in 15 games in the third quarter and connected with five three points.

The Bulls Athletic 25-year-old guard struck three pointers in the top ten of his career, transforming 16 attempts from behind the arc. His last one cut the Clippers lead to 126-125 in 17 seconds, beating the hard-charged Marcus Morris Sr.

But then the Bulls fouled to stop the clock and sent Paul George (28 points, 9 assists) to the 4-shot free throw line. I converted all of this and put the game out of reach.

George was 5-8 from long distance and made at least five make-ups from behind Ark in his sixth match of the season.

From Moreno Valley, Leonard finished with 35 points, shooting 22 14 and 7 from a long distance with 9 and raising his running score to 10,013. This did not cause a pause.

“Maybe when I retire, I’ll sit down and see the results,” said Leonard, two NBA Finals MVPs via Zoom. “But now it’s greedy and wanting more.”

Other Clippers also participated in the action. As a team, the Clippers shot 20 at 38 from a range of 3 points. This is the most produced 3 of the season and the 5th in franchise history.

After meeting Lou on Saturday, Lou Williams left the bench and played with the rediscovered clarity after telling him he was loyal to himself as a professional scorer.

“Please say the least,” the 34-year-old three-time Sixman of the Year scored 21 points in 23 minutes after telling his new coach.

“They let me leave,” Williams said via Zoom, minutes after a 6-10 outing. “Fade away to the left-it’s like a layup to me when I take that shot. It’s an energy play. It’s an athletic guy making a big dunk shot or a defensive guy stopping. It’s like a big steal. Going to the left gives you energy and confidence.

“Then I was just in my bag.”

Morris finished with 11 points and seven rebounds in 25 minutes in his third match after missing time with a pain in his right knee. This includes the delay as a de facto center for the team in the new small ball lineup that the Clippers are experimenting with.

Thanks to their efforts, the Clippers improved to 1-1 at the start of the day and 7-4 overall. It turned around late Friday night after taking a 22-point lead over the Golden State Warriors.

In contrast to Matinee a few weeks ago, Leonard saw a loss of 51 points to Minnesota, his stitches from Staples Center bystanders were fresh, but the Clippers got things done on Sunday. He rubbed his sleep well from their eyes before he got out of hand, cutting Chicago’s early 13-point lead one point before half-time.

Chicago fired 18 scorching shots at 77 (61.0%) from the field, 47 at 77, and 33 (54.5%) at 3 points, but Leonard beat the Clippers on his important third quarter victory path. Led to. At 9, he made all five of his three-point attempts and added two steals and two assists.

The Bulls lacked five players, including four (Ryan Calcidia Cono, Chandler Hutchinson, Lauri Markkanen, and Thomas Satrunky) who were away from the team due to the coronavirus health and safety protocol. It was enough to make 4-7) last longer.