A dominant third quarter helped the Los Angeles Clippers stretch their winning streak to five games with a 115-96 road victory over the Boston Celtics on Saturday night.
The Clippers led by 16 at halftime and pushed the lead to 33 points with a 21-0 run that ended with a Kawhi Leonard free throw with 3:43 remaining in the third to make it 79-46. The Clippers stretched the lead to 36 in the final minute of the period and led 91-60 entering the fourth.
Leonard led all scorers with 26 points. Los Angeles received 18 points from Daniel Theis, 17 from Paul George and 14 from Terance Mann.
The Clippers have won 13 of their last 15 games.
The Celtics shot 36 of 100 from the field (36 percent) and 10 of 40 from 3-point territory (25 percent). Jayson Tatum tossed in a team-high 21 points and had 11 rebounds, but Boston’s other starters scored 17 combined points. Payton Pritchard came off the bench to score 12.
It was Boston’s second consecutive home loss after starting the season 20-0 in home games. It also ended the team’s three-game winning streak.
Boston center Kristaps Porzingis did not play because of a left ankle sprain. He was injured during the third quarter of Thursday’s victory against Miami.
The Clippers trailed 9-6 before going on an 11-0 run to take a 17-9 lead with 4:36 remaining in the opening quarter. Los Angeles never trailed again, holding a 26-21 advantage heading into the second.
The Celtics missed their first 10 3-point attempts and shot 26.9 percent in the first 12 minutes (7 of 26).
Los Angeles used an 18-6 run to extend its lead to 15 points, 45-30, with 4:54 left in the first half. The Clippers had a 55-39 halftime lead.
It was the second meeting between the teams this season. The Celtics won 145-108 in Los Angeles on Dec. 23.
–Field Level Media