INGLEWOOD — The Clippers will finish this stretch of games Saturday having played six games in nine days. Then it’s another four road games in seven days. At times, the games begin to look the same, although they don’t all play the same.
There can be intense games against the defending NBA champions and blowouts against the worst team in the league.
“We just got to go out and try to win,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue added. “You just know every day’s a tough game and you’ve got to be prepared to play.”
Some games are tougher than others, though. One night after pushing the 2024 champion Boston Celtics to overtime, the Clippers landed on a soft spot in their congested schedule and overwhelmed the struggling Washington Wizards, 110-93, on Thursday night at the Intuit Dome.
It was just the kind of game they needed after playing four contests this week. The Wizards provided little resistance against a healthy Clippers roster.
A night after the Clippers (24-19) played without six of their top eight rotation players, the starters were back, as was reserve Nico Batum, in time to face the Wizards (a league-worst 6-37). Guard Kris Dunn was still out because of a sore knee and Jordan Miller was out because of illness.
The Clippers’ balanced scoring was too much for the Wizards, with six players finishing in double figures.
Leonard continued to ramp up his game, posting 15 points, seven rebounds and one assist in 23 minutes, 47 seconds, which kept within his minutes limit since returning to the lineup on Jan. 4. He missed the first 34 games of the season because of lingering right knee soreness.
“Over (his) last two games, I thought he’s been really good, just attacking a basket, getting to his spots, playing with a pace,” Lue said before the game. “The first few games, he kind of just eased into it, try to feel it out and see if he can trust his knee. But now, I think mentally he’s really past that point.”
James Harden posted his 79th career triple-double with 17 points, 12 rebounds and 13 assists, surpassing Wilt Chamberlain for the eighth place on the NBA’s career list.
Norman Powell added 22 points, and Derrick Jones Jr., who played 44 minutes against the Celtics the previous night, finished with 19 points and eight rebounds. Center Ivica Zubac, who missed two games after being poked in the eye by Lakers center Anthony Davis on Sunday, had 11 points and nine rebounds. Backup center Mo Bama had 13 points, six rebounds and five blocked shots.
With four of the five starters on the bench, the Wizards chipped away at the lead in the third quarter. They outscored the Clippers 23-13 to pull within 17 points (89-72) by the end of the quarter. The Clippers had led by 27.
Lue put the starters, except Leonard, back in midway through the fourth quarter after the Wizards trimmed the lead to 12 (95-83). A layup and 3-pointer by Powell gave the Clippers a 17-point cushion with 6:56 left in the game.
Jordan Poole scored 24 points and had nine assists for the Wizards. Bilal Coulibaly added 15 points and Alex Star 14 points and 10 rebounds.
More to come on this story.