INGLEWOOD — Shortly before Sunday’s tipoff, Coach Tyronn Lue left the arena after experiencing back pain, missing what he called a “very significant” game on their schedule.
In his pregame media session, Lue spoke about the need to win a third consecutive game, this one against a conference opponent and a team that sat too close for comfort in the standings.
The Sacramento Kings came into the game a half-game behind the Clippers in ninth place in the Western Conference. A victory would give the Clippers a cushion in the standings; a loss would drop them below the Kings and deeper into Play-In territory.
The Clippers (35-29) stayed put in the No. 8 spot after holding off the Kings 111-110 in overtime Sunday at the Intuit Dome. But it didn’t come easy.
Kawhi Leonard, who struggled to score all night, put up a wobbly shot that bounced on the rim before falling as time ran out.
The lead changed several times in the final minutes of the overtime period.
Down by one, DeMar DeRozan hit a long two-pointer to take a 108-107 lead with 39 seconds left in overtime. The Clippers regained the lead 109-108 on a jumper by James Harden.
DeRozan then made two free throws to push ahead, 110-108.
Trailing 97-90 in regulation, Leonard completed a 3-point play with 1:30 remaining in the game. Ivica Zubac slammed in a dunk 10 seconds later to pull the Clippers to within two, 97-95, at the 1:20 mark.
A shooting foul called on Derrick Jones Jr. was overturned but the Clippers’ Amir Coffey missed a 3-pointer that would have given them the lead.
After DeRozan missed a 3-pointer, Harden connected on a 6-footer to tie the game with 11.9 seconds remaining. Zach LaVine missed a potential game-winner as time ran out to send the game to overtime.
“They’re a big problem,” Kings interim coach Doug Christie said. “James Harden is playing at an incredible level. Zuis an incredible scorer and Kawhi, his legs are coming back to the way they were and that’s scary.”
Leonard went 7-of-19 from the field and 1-of-7 from 3-point range to finish with 17 points.
Two games after scoring 50 points, Harden finished with 23 points, nine rebounds and 11 assists, while Zubac had 22 points and 14 rebounds.
After an uneven first half, the Clippers went cold, going more than three minutes without scoring. The Kings used that to their advantage to turn a nine-point deficit into a 64-63 lead at the 5:10 mark of the third. But the Clippers regained the lead on a layup by Derrick Jones Jr.
The Kings took a 75-72 lead into the final quarter after Jake LaVaria hit a 3-pointer with 28 seconds left in the third.
Assistant Brian Shaw took over the coaching duties and got them to a 51-49 halftime lead. But it was a challenge.
The Clippers fell behind by eight points (39-31) in the second quarter but managed to take over the lead by the intermission behind Harden’s ramped-up shooting. After making just 1 of 4 shots in the opening quarter, the 11-time All-Star had 11 points on 4-of-9 shots by halftime.
The teams played twice in November but that was three months ago and much has changed with both squads. Some players are gone, others have arrived. One such player was LaVine, a two-time All-Star who came to the Kings in a trade with the Chicago Bulls.
“We saw him about a month ago, he played for the Bulls, so he’s a great player,” Lue said. “Attacks mid-range, 3-point shot, gets to the basket, gets to the free throw one. And so, we just got to make sure we’re locked in. No easy shots, make him play.”
LaVine did all that and more, finishing with 30 points on 12-of-22 shooting from the field. He missed all but one of his 3-point attempts but had seven rebounds and two assists.
DeRozan had a game-high 31 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists, while Jonas Valanciunas, filling in for injured center Domantas Sabonis, had nine points and 17 rebounds.