NEW YORK — The Clippers squandered another double-digit lead, but they salvaged this one.
Kawhi Leonard scored 35 points, Paul George added 30 and the Clippers beat the New York Knicks, 134-128, in overtime Saturday night.
After the Clippers lost a 17-point fourth-quarter lead, Nicolas Batum’s 3-pointer at the regulation buzzer tied it at 115. The Clippers had a 21-point lead against the Milwaukee Bucks two nights earlier but ended up losing by one point.
“I wish we could finish the game in the fourth quarter by making some shots to put teams away,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “But, big shot by Nico. Gutsy win by us. Nico makes the big shot and we controlled the overtime.”
The Clippers scored the first four points of overtime and never relinquished the lead. Leonard connected on all of his eight free throws in the extra session, finishing 12 for 12 from the line.
“We got to do better,” Leonard said. “Second night in a row we had big leads against these good team and they’re coming back. They have fight in them and we have to be able to close them out.”
Norman Powell added 24 points for the Clippers and Marcus Morris Sr. had 17. The Clippers have won seven of their past nine games.
Jalen Brunson, who returned after missing a game due to a non-COVID illness, led the Knicks with 41 points. Julius Randle had 28.
Powell’s jumper gave the Clippers a 17-point lead to open the fourth quarter and they still led 106-94 following Powell’s layup with 7:18 remaining.
But, Quentin Grimes’ 3-pointer with 52 seconds left gave the Knicks their first lead, 113-112, and Brunson capped a 21-6 run with a layup with 18 seconds left.
George missed a 3-pointer with eight seconds remaining, but Ivica Zubac got the offensive rebound and Batum made a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
“As a team, if we didn’t start the way we played and played Knicks basketball, we wouldn’t have been be in that position,” Brunson said. “I am proud of how we fought. I am…
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