The Los Angeles Clippers are on a five-game winning streak over the weekend against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday.
The Clippers started the Eastern Conference’s six-game road swing with a 120-to-113 win over the Atlanta Hawks by 32 points over Kawhi Leonard.
It’s the fifth time Leonard has scored 30 or more points in his last nine games. Los Angeles is 6-0 this season, and he’s scored his 30-plus points.
Leonard had six Clippers in double figures in Atlanta. Paul George is a strong all-rounder with 23 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists.
“We’re just taking steps to grow as a team,” George said after the win. “We share the ball. We play the right way. We play for each other.” I think the defense has been influential, and it’s starting to affect the game.”
He said, “I was giving up a lot of points when I went through a stretch where I didn’t play well. I’m starting to cut it.”
Los Angeles endured a six-game losing streak as part of a 2-9 run before their current winning streak. The Clippers lost 7 of 9 and he scored 110 or less.
Leonard has played a key role in Los Angeles and found that groove on the offense, but the five-time All-NBA performer has yet to play back-to-back this season as he recovers from injury.
If he misses Sunday, that could be a factor in hindering the best defense in the NBA.
The Cavaliers have a league-low 39.2 field goals per game and hold opponents to a league-low 107.1 points.
Cleveland allowed the Clippers 40 field goals on Nov. 7, the day the teams last faced each other, 17 of them from the 3-point range, more than 5 more than the Cavaliers’ season yield per game. I got
Los Angeles won the contest 119-117 by 26 points over George.
Cleveland has dropped four of its last six, including a 112-100 loss to the hosts Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday, heading into a rematch with a minor slump. The setback ended his three-game road swing for the Cavaliers, and he’s been home for three straight games since Sunday.
Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen said of the Thunder’s 34-22 scoring prowess in the fourth quarter, “We just couldn’t finish it,” according to Cleveland.com. “We didn’t make a lot of shots offensively and defensively it felt like we were constantly scrambling. It’s just a mix of two things that we didn’t get it. is.”
Cleveland was without both veteran forward and sparkplug Kevin Love and 2023 All-Star Game starter Donovan Mitchell on Friday. Love is routinely listed for a back injury and Mitchell is routinely considered for a groin injury.
Mitchell, who averages 28.3 points per game, has missed five of Cleveland’s last six games as the Cavaliers are 2-3.
Mitchell scored 30 points in his last game against Los Angeles. It’s one of his 18 games to reach 30 this season.
–Field level media
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