Powell and Leonard lead Clippers over Lakers, 125-118

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Norman Powell scored 27points, Kawhi Leonard added 25 and the Los Angeles Clippersimproved their playoff seeding chances with a 125-118 win overLeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night.

The Clippers’ 11th straight victory over their Crypto.com Arenahallmates pulled them into a tie with idle Golden State for fifthin the West at 42-38. The Clippers and Lakers came into their finalmeeting of the season tied in the standings at 41-38.

The Lakers had already clinched at least a play-in spot, but aretrying to finish in the top six and earn one of the guaranteedpostseason spots. The Clippers own the head-to-head tiebreaker overthe Lakers.

James had 33 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and sixturnovers for the Lakers, who were closing out a back-to-back.Anthony Davis had 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, who hadwon four in a row and seven of eight.

Playing without injured Paul George, the Clippers got 17 pointsand 13 rebounds from Ivica Zubac. Facing the Lakers for the firsttime since their divorce in February, Russell Westbrook added 14points.

Bones Hyland hit three 3-pointers and Terance Mann added anotherearly in the fourth to extend the Clippers’ lead to 106-90. Powellsent a perfectly timed alley-oop pass over Davis and Leonardslammed it down for a 112-92 lead.

James and Davis took over in the third during the Lakers’ lonedominant stretch of the game. They combined to score 17 of theirteam’s first 19 points during a run that cut the Lakers’ deficitfrom 21 points to eight. Davis scored over Mason Plumlee to drawthe Lakers within seven.

But Powell ran off 10 in a row and Plumlee dunked to send theClippers into the fourth leading 93-82. Leonard was limited to a3-pointer in the third.

Coming in off three days’ rest, the Clippers opened the gamewith a 23-11 run in which a clearly motivated Westbrook scoredeight points and assisted on their first two baskets.

The Lakers answered with a 15-2 spurt to take their lone lead ofthe first half, 26-25, while getting points from five differentplayers.

The Clippers outscored the Lakers 34-21 in the second quarter tolead 71-52 at halftime. One of James’ no-look passes ended up inMann’s hands and he fired to Powell, who hit a 3-pointer. AnotherJames turnover resulted in a dunk by Mann.

James and Davis combined for nine points on 4 of 12 shooting inthe half.

The Clippers came in fresh, having had three days off. TheLakers, by comparison, eked out an overtime win at Utah on Tuesdaynight that required James and Davis to play even more minutes onthe front end of a back-to-back.

TIP-INS

Lakers: Lost the season series, 4-0. They were beaten by six,13, 18 and seven points. ... Mo Bamba (ankle sprain) has been outfor a month.

Clippers: Leonard reached 4,000 career rebounds in the third.... They outscored the Lakers 20-8 in fast-break points in thefirst half, the most such points since November 2021 againstMinnesota. ... Marcus Morris (low back spasms) sat out.

UP NEXT

Lakers: Host Phoenix on Friday. They’re 1-2 vs. the Suns thisseason.

Clippers: Host Portland on Saturday. The Blazers have alreadybeen eliminated from postseason contention.