By IAN NICHOLAS QUILLEN The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The Clippers have plenty of firepower, even without Paul George.
Kawhi Leonard scored 31 points, James Harden added 25 and the Clippers pulled away with a big third quarter to beat the struggling Washington Wizards, 125-109, on Wednesday night as eight-time All-Star Paul George rested his sore groin.
The red-hot Clippers (31-15) – a league-best 23-5 since Dec. 1 – outscored Washington 39-19 in the third after leading by 10 in the first half.
Harden’s pullup 3-pointer from the top of the arc stretched the lead to 20 for the first time with 5:42 left in the period. Later, Leonard’s emphatic dunk off a driving, spinning feed from Russell Westbrook pushed the margin to 25, and Norman Powell’s basket made it 106-79 at the end of the third.
Leonard and Harden each had nine rebounds. And Harden hit five 3-pointers to help the Clippers snap out of a long-range shooting slump.
The Clippers were 12 for 30 from 3-point range after three straight games when they shot below 33%. The Clippers were 12 for 25 before removing their starters. They are 3-1 on their seven-game Grammy trip.
Former Laker Kyle Kuzma scored 23 of his 27 points in the first half for Washington (9-38). The Wizards are 2-2 under interim coach Brian Keefe after Wes Unseld Jr. was fired last week.
Rookie and Bilal Coulibaly scored 19 points in his second career start and first since Oct. 30. He replaced shooting guard Jordan Poole (illness) in the lineup.
UP NEXT
The Clippers continue their trip on Friday at 4 p.m. PT at Detroit.
More to come on this story.
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