CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Clippers are perfecting their finishing kick, and they needed it to secure another road win Friday night.
Norman Powell scored 27 points, Kawhi Leonard added 21 points and nine rebounds, and the Clippers held off the pesky Charlotte Hornets, 112-104, in a game that tightened up midway through the fourth quarter.
All-Star James Harden finished with 14 points and 10 assists for the Clippers, while Ivica Zubac had 14 points and 11 rebounds. Derrick Jones Jr. had 12 points and Amir Coffey added 10 off the bench as the Clippers won for the fourth time in their past five games.
The Clippers (28-20) built a 10-point lead in the third quarter but saw that margin trimmed to 97-95 with 6:44 left in the fourth before finally shaking the Hornets (12-33) in the final minutes.
Kevin Porter Jr. dunked off of his own 3-point miss to spark a 9-2 run. A Harden 3-pointer made it 102-95 with 6:06 to play, and a driving layup by Powell capped the surge for a 106-97 Clippers lead with 3:32 left. Charlotte got no closer than seven points the rest of the way.
Charlotte was within 106-99 after Vasilije Micic made two free throws with 3:11 to play, but Powell hit a driving floater with 2:10 left and Leonard’s dunk with 1:45 remaining gave the Clippers their biggest lead of the game at 110-99.
Powell, who has scored at least 20 points in 12 of his past 13 games, shot 11 for 15 from the field (2 for 4 from 3-point range). Leonard made four of the Clippers’ 11 3-pointers, which helped the visitors overcome their 18 turnovers and the starting five’s 9-for-16 showing at the free-throw line.
The Clippers, who used a 17-2 fourth-quarter run to close out a win in San Antonio on Wednesday, led the Hornets 53-48 at halftime and stretched the margin to 87-77 after three quarters before Charlotte made its last challenge.
Miles Bridges had 27 points and nine rebounds to pace the Hornets, who lost for the fifth time in six games. Micic had 20 points, Moussa Diabate had 11 points and 14 rebounds off the bench and Josh Green added 10 points, but Charlotte couldn’t overcome its 7-for-30 shooting from 3-point range. Bridges was 1-for-8 from behind the arc.
The Hornets won’t have injured star LaMelo Ball (28.2 points and 7.3 assists per game) back in the lineup until at least next week. The former Chino Hills High standout is nursing an ankle injury.
Friday’s game was originally to be the final matchup between the teams this season, but the wildfires earlier this month postponed the Jan. 11 game at Crypto.com Arena. That game was reschedule for March 16.
ANOTHER MILESTONE
Following his third assist in the first quarter, Harden became one of 13 players in NBA history to reach 8,000 career assists. Harden joins Russell Westbrook, LeBron James and Chris Paul as the only active players on the list.
UP NEXT
The Clippers play at Toronto on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. PT.