TORONTO – The Los Angeles Clippers will be going for their fifth consecutive NBA victory on Friday night (Saturday morning, Singapore time) when they open a three-game road trip against the Toronto Raptors.
The surging Clippers took their fourth in a row and 11th win in the past 13 with a 119-105 home victory over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday.
Kawhi Leonard, who led the Raptors to the 2019 NBA championship in his only season with Toronto, had 33 points while James Harden added 22 points. Once again, the duo will be the key players for the Clippers.
Toronto also won on Wednesday, 115-101 on the road over the Indiana Pacers.
This will be the first meeting of the season between the Clippers and Raptors, who split two games last season.
The Clippers, who have played their way into playoff contention, were without Ivica Zubac (ankle) and John Collins (groin) against the Wizards. Leonard (ankle) was a game-time decision and played 30 minutes.
A major factor in their recent surge has been an improved defence, and it showed late against the Wizards.
“I told our guys that we shouldn’t have to have shootarounds,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said.
“We should come in every night and know what we’re doing defensively, knowing what we’re doing offensively, how we want to attack. So, we’ve got to get to that point where we’re good enough to do that. But we just have to keep building defensively.
“And then offensively, (Harden) and (Leonard) are special enough offensively that we can get through, but it’s going to be our defence that pulls us through.”
The Raptors also were undermanned on Wednesday, playing without Immanuel Quickley (back), RJ Barrett (ankle), Jakob Poeltl (back), Ja’Kobe Walter (hip) and Sandro Mamukelashvili (illness).
The depleted lineup meant role changes for some Raptors, including Scottie Barnes, who was often needed as a playmaker while he also contributed 26 points.
“He did a great job organising the team and putting his teammates in the right spots, attacking matchups, posting up the way it was needed,” Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said.
After the Friday game, Toronto will embark on a five-game road trip starting Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Meanwhile in NBA action on Thursday, Chet Holmgren tallied 18 points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots, while Ajay Mitchell tallied 17 points off the bench as the Oklahoma City Thunder extended their winning streak to five with a 111-91 road victory over the Houston Rockets.
Elsewhere, Victor Wembanyama amassed 22 points and 10 rebounds in just three quarters and five teammates amassed double figures as the San Antonio Spurs dismantled the visiting Milwaukee Bucks 119-101 to snap a two-game losing streak. REUTERS
NBALos Angeles ClippersToronto Raptors