INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- — Kawhi Leonard scored a season-high 32 points and the slumping Los Angeles Clippers rode their 3-point shooting to a 103-88 victory over LeBron James and the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night, snapping a five-game skid.

Luka Doncic, the NBA's scoring leader, didn't return for the Lakers after halftime because of a lower leg contusion. He had 12 points and five rebounds in 19 minutes after missing his first six shots. Doncic was coming off a triple-double of 45 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists at Utah on Thursday.

James, who turns 41 on Dec. 30, led the Lakers with a season-high 36 points.

James Harden had 21 points and 10 assists for the Clippers. John Collins added 17 points and 12 rebounds.

The Clippers were 16 of 43 from 3-point range, with Leonard tying his season high with four, Harden making four and Brook Lopez hitting three off the bench. The Lakers missed 32 3-pointers, with James going 3 of 7, Doncic 1 of 6 and Marcus Smart missing all of his nine attempts.

The Clippers had lost 12 of their last 15 to fall to the bottom of the Western Conference. But they led the entire game and held off a Lakers spurt that cut their lead to seven to open the fourth.

The Lakers got that close with the help of a six-point possession. Kobe Sanders received a flagrant-1 foul on Smart's 3-point attempt. Smart made all three free throws and the Lakers got possession. James scored, got fouled and made the free throw, leaving them trailing 80-73.

The Clippers answered with back-to-back 3-pointers by Collins and Harden to go with Leonard's dunk off James' turnover. The Lakers then ran off six in a row to close to 88-79.

From there, the Clippers closed out just their seventh win of the season.

The Clippers lost Ivica Zubac to a left ankle injury after he scored five points while playing most of the first quarter.

Rui Hachimura missed his first start of the season for the Lakers with a sore groin. He’s expected to be out 3-5 days. The team hopes to get Deandre Ayton (left elbow) and Austin Reaves (left calf) back soon.

Up next

Lakers: At Phoenix on Tuesday to end an eight-game trip.

Clippers: Host former MVP Kevin Durant and Houston on Tuesday.

------

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

Play By Play

Recent plays and game events

TIME	PLAY
12:00	Jaxson Hayes vs. Ivica Zubac (Luka Doncic gains possession)	0	0
11:37	Luka Doncic misses 15-foot step back jumpshot	0	0
11:33	Kawhi Leonard defensive rebound	0	0
11:20	James Harden makes 25-foot three pointer (John Collins assists)	3	0
11:05	Ivica Zubac kicked ball violation	3	0
11:02	Kawhi Leonard personal foul	3	0
10:54	Marcus Smart misses 25-foot three point jumper	3	0
10:51	Kawhi Leonard defensive rebound	3	0
10:44	Kawhi Leonard misses 9-foot pullup jump shot	3	0
10:41	Kris Dunn offensive rebound	3	0
10:39	John Collins makes 2-foot layup (Kris Dunn assists)	5	0
10:26	LeBron James misses 24-foot three point jumper	5	0
10:23	John Collins defensive rebound	5	0
10:09	Kris Dunn misses 26-foot three point jumper	5	0
10:05	John Collins offensive rebound	5	0
10:02	John Collins misses driving layup	5	0
9:58	John Collins offensive rebound	5	0
9:58	John Collins makes tip shot	7	0
9:42	Jake LaRavia misses 22-foot three point jumper	7	0
9:40	John Collins defensive rebound	7	0
9:35	James Harden back court turnover	7	0
9:19	LeBron James misses 21-foot jumper	7	0
9:16	Jake LaRavia offensive rebound	7	0
9:07	LeBron James misses 17-foot fade away jump shot	7	0
9:06	Clippers defensive team rebound	7	0
9:06	Jake LaRavia loose ball foul	7	0
8:55	Ivica Zubac makes driving layup (James Harden assists)	9	0
8:40	Luka Doncic misses driving floating jump shot	9	0
8:38	Ivica Zubac defensive rebound	9	0
8:36	Luka Doncic personal foul	9	0
8:36	Lakers delay of game violation	9	0
8:23	Kawhi Leonard misses 19-foot pullup jump shot	9	0
8:20	Jake LaRavia defensive rebound	9	0
8:08	LeBron James makes 24-foot three point step back jumpshot	9	3
7:51	James Harden makes 26-foot three point step back jumpshot	12	3
7:34	LeBron James makes 1-foot dunk (Jaxson Hayes assists)	12	5
7:15	Ivica Zubac bad pass turnover (Jaxson Hayes steals)	12	5
7:10	LeBron James makes 1-foot running dunk (Jaxson Hayes assists)	12	7
6:52	Kawhi Leonard misses 13-foot pullup jump shot	12	7
6:49	Ivica Zubac offensive rebound	12	7
6:48	John Collins makes 1-foot dunk (Ivica Zubac assists)	14	7
6:41	Luka Doncic out of bounds lost ball turnover	14	7
6:41	Clippers Full timeout	14	7
6:41	Luka Doncic technical foul	14	7
6:41	James Harden makes technical free throw	15	7
6:27	James Harden misses 23-foot three point jumper	15	7
6:24	Luka Doncic defensive rebound	15	7
6:17	Luka Doncic misses 15-foot fade away jump shot	15	7
6:14	Kris Dunn defensive rebound	15	7
6:03	Kris Dunn makes 24-foot three point jumper (James Harden assists)	18	7
5:49	Kris Dunn personal foul	18	7
5:49	Dalton Knecht enters the game for LeBron James	18	7
5:40	Kawhi Leonard blocks Luka Doncic 's 7-foot pullup jump shot	18	7
5:37	Kawhi Leonard defensive rebound	18	7
5:35	John Collins out of bounds lost ball turnover	18	7
5:22	Jaxson Hayes misses 8-foot floating jump shot	18	7
5:20	John Collins defensive rebound	18	7
5:12	Kris Dunn makes two point shot	20	7
4:59	Dalton Knecht misses 25-foot three point jumper	20	7
4:54	Marcus Smart offensive rebound	20	7
4:53	John Collins shooting foul	20	7
4:53	Jake LaRavia makes free throw 1 of 2	20	8
4:53	Bogdan Bogdanovic enters the game for Kris Dunn	20	8
4:53	Jarred Vanderbilt enters the game for Jaxson Hayes	20	8
4:53	Maxi Kleber enters the game for Marcus Smart	20	8
4:53	Jake LaRavia makes free throw 2 of 2	20	9
4:39	Kawhi Leonard misses 8-foot fade away jump shot	20	9
4:37	Jake LaRavia defensive rebound	20	9
4:26	Nicolas Batum enters the game for Kawhi Leonard	20	9
4:20	Luka Doncic misses 23-foot three point step back jumpshot	20	9
4:16	Jake LaRavia offensive rebound	20	9
4:06	Luka Doncic lost ball turnover (John Collins steals)	20	9
4:01	Nicolas Batum makes 24-foot running jump shot (Bogdan Bogdanovic assists)	23	9
3:59	Lakers Full timeout	23	9
3:44	Dalton Knecht misses 24-foot three point jumper	23	9
3:44	Clippers defensive team rebound	23	9
3:34	Ivica Zubac makes 1-foot dunk (James Harden assists)	25	9
3:34	Maxi Kleber shooting foul	25	9
3:34	LeBron James enters the game for Jake LaRavia	25	9
3:34	Ivica Zubac makes free throw 1 of 1	26	9
3:12	Luka Doncic misses 25-foot three point step back jumpshot	26	9
3:08	Jarred Vanderbilt offensive rebound	26	9
3:01	John Collins shooting foul	26	9
3:01	Luka Doncic misses free throw 1 of 2	26	9
3:01	Lakers offensive team rebound	26	9
3:01	Kobe Sanders enters the game for John Collins	26	9
3:01	Luka Doncic makes free throw 2 of 2	26	10
2:49	Nicolas Batum misses 24-foot three point jumper	26	10
2:46	Luka Doncic defensive rebound	26	10
2:40	Luka Doncic makes 7-foot driving floating jump shot	26	12
2:28	Bogdan Bogdanovic misses 25-foot three point pullup jump shot	26	12
2:25	Luka Doncic defensive rebound	26	12
2:08	LeBron James misses 25-foot three point pullup jump shot	26	12
2:04	Clippers defensive team rebound	26	12
1:48	James Harden misses 25-foot three point step back jumpshot	26	12
1:45	Dalton Knecht defensive rebound	26	12
1:35	Luka Doncic misses 24-foot three point step back jumpshot	26	12
1:32	Bogdan Bogdanovic defensive rebound	26	12
1:21	Ivica Zubac misses 9-foot hook shot	26	12
1:19	Luka Doncic defensive rebound	26	12
1:13	Bogdan Bogdanovic shooting foul	26	12
1:13	Jarred Vanderbilt misses free throw 1 of 2	26	12
1:13	Lakers offensive team rebound	26	12
1:13	Brook Lopez enters the game for Ivica Zubac	26	12
1:13	Jarred Vanderbilt makes free throw 2 of 2	26	13
1:00	Bogdan Bogdanovic makes 19-foot step back jumpshot	28	13
49.8	Luka Doncic makes 16-foot driving floating jump shot	28	15
35.7	Bogdan Bogdanovic misses 25-foot three point pullup jump shot	28	15
32.1	Dalton Knecht defensive rebound	28	15
9.1	Luka Doncic misses 31-foot three point jumper	28	15
7.8	Nicolas Batum defensive rebound	28	15
1.3	Kobe Sanders misses running pullup jump shot	28	15
0.6	Clippers offensive team rebound	28	15
0.0	End of the 1st Quarter	28	15

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Game Information

Time, Location & Referees

Venue

Intuit Dome

Inglewood, CA

Date & Time

3:30 AM, December 21, 2025

Coverage

FanDuel SN SoCal, Spectrum Sports Net, Spectrum Sports Net +, NBA TV

Attendance

17,927

Referees

Josh Tiven, Rodney Mott, Robert Hussey

2025-26 Pacific Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
LA Lakers	32	19	.627	W3
Phoenix	31	22	.585	L2
Golden State	28	25	.528	L1
LA Clippers	24	27	.471	W1
Sacramento	12	42	.222	L12

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Kawhi Leonard has season-high 32 points as Clippers beat Lakers 103-88 to snap 5-game skid

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