INGLEWOOD — With point guard Darius Garland managing his recently recovered toe and forward John Collins still on the mend after getting hit on the head twice, the Clippers needed a starter.
Coach Tyronn Lue didn’t look any further than rookie Kobe Sanders, who veteran guard Kris Dunn called a “6-8 demi-god” during an appearance on national television.
Sanders had played admirably in 15 previous starts, which gave Dunn reason for the props and Lue the confidence to insert him into the starting lineup on Friday night against the Chicago Bulls.
And the young guard came through, scoring in double figures for the 15th time this season, posting 11 points along with six rebounds and three assists in the Clippers’ 119-108 victory over the Bulls at the Intuit Dome.
But Sanders wasn’t the only reserve who contributed to the team’s fourth consecutive victory and seventh in the past eight games.
Bennedict Mathurin came off the bench and scored 26 points on 10-of-19 shooting to go with six rebounds, while Jordan Miller finished with 14 points and Isaiah Jackson had eight points and seven rebounds. Veteran forward Nicolas Batum made one 3-pointer and had three rebounds, four assists and one blocked shot in his 16 minutes.
“I think they have gotten to a point where we can trust them,” Lue said of the bench players. “… but I think Jordan and Ben \[have\] done a really good job of just trying to carry that offensive load when Kawhi and Darius are out of the game.”
No matter who is on the court, Kawhi Leonard remains the primary focus of the Clippers’ offense and Friday night wasn’t any different. Leonard, their leading scorer in 17 of the past 19 games, had 28 points on 8-of-22 shooting to extend his streak of 44 consecutive games with at least 20 points, tying former great Bob McAdoo for the longest single-season streak in franchise history.
As it turned out, the Clippers (34-32) needed both starters and reserves to lock in down the stretch.
In the fourth quarter, Mathurin made two free throws to give the Clippers a 101-89 lead with 8:34 left to play. Mata Buzelis’ dunk off a pass from Josh Giddey cut the margin to 10. Leonard pushed the lead back to 13 with a pair of foul shots, but the Bulls didn’t back down.
Chicago scored five straight points to trim the deficit to 103-96, but Mathurin cut to the basket and scored off a pass from Miller.
Center Brook Lopez followed with his fourth blocked shot of the night, which moved him past Shawn Bradley for sole possession of 15th place on the NBA’s career blocks list. He finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and five blocks.
Lopez’s layup made it a 107-96 lead, but the Bulls responded with two baskets, including a 3-pointer by Josh Giddey, to turn it into an eight-point game.
The Clippers, though, continued to pressure Chicago and held the Bulls to two points in the final two minutes to close out the win.
This was the kind of game the Clippers feared. Despite their record and recent 11-game losing streak, the energetic Bulls (27-40) can pose problems with their ability to run the floor. They recently knocked off the Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors, and came into the game shooting 46.9% from the field.
The Bulls kept the game close behind a balanced attack with seven players scoring in double figures. They took their second lead of the game on Rob Dillingham’s 22-foot fadeaway jumper with 3:41 left in the third quarter.
But the Clippers quickly recovered and outscored the Bulls 13-4 for a 93-85 lead heading into the fourth.
The Clippers led by as many as nine in the first quarter before the Bulls picked up their pace and took a 49-48 lead on a 3-pointer by Buzelis with 4:05 left in the first half. The Clippers closed the half on a 15-8 run for a 63-57 halftime lead.
Giddey had his 11th triple-double of the season for the Bulls with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Tre Jones scored 21 points and Buzelis added 18 as the Bulls went 2-3 on a West Coast trip.
_More to come on this story._