INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Kawhi Leonard stood at the top of the key, letting seconds tick off the clock. He dribbled to his right, then turned and moved across the paint. As the defense collapsed on him, he put up a left hook.
The ball hit the backboard and rim before dropping in at the buzzer, giving the Los Angeles Clippers a hard-fought 111-110 overtime victory against the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night.
Leonard struggled most of the night, missing 12 of 18 shots before his game winner — the only shot he took in overtime.
“Players make big-time plays and he's done it throughout his entire career,” teammate James Harden said. “For him to step up and hit a game winner like that, it shows the confidence in the type of player he is.”
Leonard punched his right fist in the air and ran to his jubilant teammates.
“We need these wins down the stretch,” he said. “I think this will help us be a better team moving forward. Everybody was excited and know we needed it.”
The win helped the Clippers tighten their grip on eighth place in the West over the ninth-place Kings, who dropped 1 1/2 games back.
Coach Tyronn Lue went home with back pain before the game, leaving assistant Brian Shaw in charge. Lue was watching and a couple of the other coaches Facetimed him afterward.
“He looked like he was having a heart attack," Shaw said. "The same way that we felt out there not knowing how it was going to go."
The Clippers improved to 4-6 since the All-Star break. Norman Powell, the team’s leading scorer, has been out for much of that stretch. Harden and Powell have carried the team for much of the season, with Ivica Zubac and Derrick Jones Jr. making solid contributions.
Leonard has gradually increased his minutes since making his season debut in early January. However, he's still on a restriction and he sat down briefly in overtime.
“Just itching to get back in,” he said.
Hitting the game-winner would seem especially satisfying to Leonard, who didn't make his season debut until January. He missed the first 36 games with what the Clippers described as right knee injury recovery.
“I'm not thinking about that. It’s one game,” he said. “My goal is to be healthy at the end of this season so I can have a good summer and not worry about doing a whole rehab process again or missing a training camp.”
The five-minute extra session was a thrilling back-and-forth with Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan combining for the Kings' 13 points and Leonard, Zubac, Harden and Jones scoring the Clippers' 14 points.
With fans of both teams on their feet and the Kings clinging to a one-point lead, Leonard re-entered the game. With everyone else in a tizzy, Leonard coolly read the defense and worked to get to his spot on the floor.
“Just be patient. Even with 5 seconds on the clock or 3 seconds, you still got a lot of time to get a shot off,” he said. “Just trust your work.”
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Beth Harris, The Associated Press