The Los Angeles Clippers are the hottest team in the NBA at the moment, recording their fifth win in a row by blowing away the Sacramento Kings 131-90 at the Intuit Dome on Tuesday. The Clippers led 34-20 at the end of the first quarter here, and the result never looked in doubt at any point.
The Clippers managed to extend that lead to as many as 43 points on the night and have now improved to 11-21 on the season. Head coach Tyronn Lue had seemingly set an impossible goal for his team by stating they had to go 35-20 or better before they got on this win streak. If the Clippers keep this up, they will achieve that goal.
Kawhi Leonard: A+
Game Stats: 33 PTS, 5 REB, 5 AST, 3 STL, 1 BLK, 1 TOV, 11-19 FG, 5-9 3PT, 6-7 FT, 33 MIN
Kawhi Leonard has been a big reason why the Clippers have managed to go on this winning run, and he was incredible here. Leonard came into this clash after recording a career-high 55 points against the Detroit Pistons, and he would have gotten close to that number if this game had been close. He had 26 points at halftime on 8-13 shooting from the field.
Leonard has now scored over 30 points in four of his last five games and is on a roll offensively. The 34-year-old had good moments defensively as well here, and he is looking like one of the best players in the NBA again.
James Harden: A
Game Stats: 21 PTS, 3 REB, 5 AST, 1 STL, 6-14 FG, 1-6 3PT, 8-10 FT, 30 MIN
It was a tale of two halves for James Harden in this one. Harden had 16 points on 5-9 shooting from the field at halftime, but then went cold in the second half. The game was all but over by then, so you can’t penalize him too much in terms of the grade.
Harden had put this Clippers team on his back at the start of the season and is now able to take a backseat to Leonard. It’s the role he is the best suited for at this stage of his career, and he’s thriving in it.
John Collins: A
Game Stats: 16 PTS, 5 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 3 BLK, 6-9 FG, 2-4 3PT, 2-2 FT, 22 MIN
John Collins had a rough start to life as a Clipper, but he is doing just fine now. Like most of the starters, Collins did much of his damage in the first half itself. He is hitting that outside shot more consistently now, and the Clippers are so much more dangerous when the defense has to respect him as a shooter.
Collins was active on the glass with three offensive rebounds, and those three blocks tied his season-high as well. He is proving to be another example of why you shouldn’t write off players when they don’t get off to the greatest of starts with their new team.
Yanic Konan Niederhauser: A
Game Stats: 16 PTS, 6 REB, 2 AST, 1 BLK, 1 TOV, 6-8 FG, 0-1 3PT, 4-6 FT, 25 MIN
Yanic Konan Niederhauser had the best game of his rookie season here. Niederhauser had never scored more than six points in a game coming into this one, and more than doubled his career-high. The Swiss center’s six rebounds are a career-high, too, and he was great here.
This Clippers team has an old core, and they need some youth and energy around them. Niederhauser has been providing just that, and he could turn out to be quite the steal as they got him with the 30th pick.
Kobe Sanders: B+
Game Stats: 7 PTS, 6 REB, 4 AST, 2 STL, 3-8 FG, 0-3 3PT, 1-2 FT, 26 MIN
Speaking of youth and energy, we get to Kobe Sanders. Sanders’ outside shot wasn’t going in here, but he did everything else well. He was active on the glass and impressed as a playmaker while not turning the ball over. Sanders was the 50th pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, and the Clippers made the right call to acquire him from the New York Knicks on draft night.
Kris Dunn: B+
Game Stats: 10 PTS, 6 REB, 1 AST, 2 STL, 4-7 FG, 2-4 3PT, 21 MIN
Kris Dunn had yet another solid outing here. Dunn played good defense, as he always does, and was another Clipper who was active on the glass. The question when it comes to him for much of his career is whether he can hit that outside shot consistently, and he’s been making them at a fairly good clip. This was the eighth straight game in which Dunn has shot better than 40% from three.
Derrick Jones Jr.: B
Game Stats: 8 PTS, 1 REB, 3 AST, 2 STL, 1 BLK, 3-5 FG, 1-1 3PT, 1-1 FT, 20 MIN
This was just Derrick Jones Jr.’s second game back since being out for over a month due to a sprained MCL. Jones is arguably the best defender on this Clippers team when fully healthy and made a couple of good plays on that end of the floor here. He also seemed to find a bit of rhythm offensively and will elevate this team once he has some more games under his belt.
Brook Lopez: B
Game Stats: 8 PTS, 6 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL, 1 BLK, 1 TOV, 2-9 FG, 2-4 3PT, 2-2 FT, 23 MIN
Brook Lopez was probably the only starter who had a better second half than first. Lopez was scoreless in the first, but the shots started to fall in after halftime. The spacing he provides is really helping this Clippers offense, and they’re not feeling Ivica Zubac’s absence at the moment. They have won four in a row now since Zubac went down.
Lopez also defended the rim fairly well, and it’s crazy to think he was out of the rotation at one point.
Nicolas Batum: B-
Game Stats: 3 PTS, 1 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 1 BLK, 1-3 FG, 1-3 3PT, 19 MIN
Nicolas Batum had a rather quiet night here offensively, but the Clippers didn’t need much out of him. As for the other end, Batum was solid defensively. It was a decent showing, in all.
Jordan Miller: C
Game Stats: 6 PTS, 1 REB, 1 BLK, 3-4 FG, 0-1 3PT, 7 MIN
Jordan Miller played exclusively in garbage time, and he managed to snag an offensive rebound and get a block. Miller was also effective offensively.
Kobe Brown: C
Game Stats: 3 PTS, 1 REB, 2 AST, 1-3 FG, 0-1 3PT, 1-2 FT, 7 MIN
Kobe Brown was another who played in just the final minutes, and the highlight of his night was a nice little dunk.
Cam Christie: C
Game Stats: 1 REB, 1 AST, 0-1 FG, 0-1 3PT, 7 MIN
Cam Christie only played the final minutes, too, and he didn’t do anything of note.
