Clippers thump Raptors for 3rd straight win

INGLEWOOD — Kawhi Leonard’s advice to the young players and new Clippers was sound, if not prophetic.

“Just keep one foot in front of the other and just play and have fun,” the seven-time All-Star said, in all seriousness, two nights earlier. This coming from the league’s most stoic player whose moniker is “Fun Guy.”

The Clippers not only listened to what Leonard said, they understood the assignment on Wednesday night, putting together an entertaining show in beating the Toronto Raptors, 119-94, at the Intuit Dome.

The victory over one of the top six teams in the Eastern Conference gave the Clippers their third straight victory and pulled them within three games of the Phoenix Suns (40-33) for the No. 7 seed – the top spot in the Western Conference’s four-team Play-In tournament. At 37-36, the Clippers are currently in the No. 8 spot, a half-game ahead of ninth-place Portland and two games ahead of 10th-place Golden State with less than three weeks left in the regular season.

Perhaps no one had more fun on Wednesday than Darius Garland, who blew kisses after each of his five 3-pointers, converted a handful of circus shots and finished with 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting to go with six assists. After splitting two defenders to bury a 35-footer at the buzzer to end the third quarter for a 91-72 lead, the point guard again kissed his fingers, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

“You see that he’s enjoying the game and he’s just loving it,” Leonard said. “I’ve played with guys like that before and like I said, he’s doing a great job, man. It’s when your hard work pays off, you make one of those shots or you’re just doing good, the excitement comes out of you. So yeah, I’m enjoying it and playing with him.”

Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said he appreciates Garland’s showmanship at times; other times, like when it leads to a turnover, he doesn’t.

“He enjoys the game. He has fun with the game,” Lue said.

What Lue likes most about Garland’s ability to shoot from long range is how it opens up the court, freeing others when defenses key on the point guard.

“It just gives us more space, more space on the floor,” Lue said. “A guy can shoot from that far out, now you got to close out higher. Now you can put the ball on the floor, get into the paint and make a play.”

Several teammates benefitted from the wide-open spaces created by Garland’s play.

Leonard extended his 20-point streak to 49 straight games with 27 points on 9-of-19 shooting, welcoming hand slaps from teammates after hitting his second 3-pointer late in the game. He also grabbed six rebounds.

Leonard said his run comes down to being consistent.

“It’s everything,” Leonard said. “That’s how you build championship habits. It’s just coming in every night, playing with the consistent mindset of being in attack mode and wanting to defend. And you want your team to play that way as well. So, I just build off of just trying to win really more than anything because the numbers will change.”

Bennedict Mathurin scored 23 points with four rebounds and six assists, showing little rust after missing the previous four games because of toe issues. He shot 7 for 14 from the field and 8 for 11 from the free-throw line.

Center Brook Lopez got in on the fun, going 3 for 6 from 3-point range and finishing with 14 points, five rebounds, four blocked shots and two steals, while backup center Isaiah Jackson added 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting to go with five rebounds.

The Clippers shot 51.2% (42 for 82) from the field and had another efficient night from 3-point range at 45.7% (16 for 35). They also got 50 points from their reserves.

“It was a good night offensively,” Lue said. “It’s not going to be that kind of night every night. We expect it (from) Kawhi and Darius every night, but other than that, just the way the flow of the game goes, you got to just kind of see how it’s going that night.”

After beating the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday, Leonard also took the opportunity to remind his team that “we’re not scared of nobody” even if the opponent is more talented or possesses a better record.

The Raptors (40-32) fell into sixth place in the Eastern Conference, one game behind the sizzling Atlanta Hawks, and are just a half-game ahead of the seventh-place Philadelphia 76ers. But they came into the game having won four of their past six games and gave the Clippers a brief scare in the first half.

The Clippers built a 54-32 lead before the intermission only to watch the Raptors slice into it with a 9-1 run in the second quarter that turned a comfortable game into an uneasy feeling. All too often this season, the Clippers have allowed opponents to get the upper hand and erase a double-digit lead.

This time, though, the Clippers responded quickly. Garland landed a 20-foot turnaround fadeaway jumper followed by a midrange jumper by Leonard to regain the momentum and help the Clippers take a 59-45 lead into halftime.

Leonard and Garland combined for nearly half of the Clippers’ points in the first 24 minutes, while Lopez scored 11 on 4-of-8 shooting, including two 3-pointers.

The Raptors struggled to find any rhythm on offense early on, finally settling into a groove during their modest run.

Brandon Ingram led the Raptors with 18 points, six rebounds and four assists.

The Clippers shot 19 for 24 from the free-throw line and outscored Toronto there by 15 points.

Raptors center Jakob Poeltl was briefly forced out of the game after sustaining a cut near his left eye going up for a rebound early in the second quarter and finishing with 10 points.