Leonard, Clippers knock off Knicks

NEW YORK — Not even the NBA’s leading defensive team could slow down the surging Los Angeles Clippers.

Kawhi Leonard scored 28 points and the Clippers rang up the highest point total of the season against the New York Knicks on Sunday, winning 129-115 for their 10th victory in 11 games.

The Clippers shredded the NBA leaders in fewest points per game allowed to break away after leading by one at halftime. Even playing without two starters, they surpassed the 102.7 points per game the Knicks had been allowing with their first basket of the final quarter and kept pouring it on in their third straight victory.

“We’re just a pretty good offensive team,” Paul George said.

“We share the ball, we move it, we look for the open man, we emphasize passing up good shots for great ones and I think we do a pretty good job of doing that,“he said.

Reggie Jackson added 18 points and George had 17 for the Clippers, who made 17 3-pointers and shot 54% overall against a Knicks team that led the league in that category as well while improving to 16-5.

“It’s been a good ride so far and I think we’ve got something special going on over there,” Clippers forward Marcus Morris said.

Julius Randle had 27 points and 12 rebounds for the Knicks. Rookie Immanuel Quickley added 25 points and RJ Barrett added 23, but scoring wasn’t the problem for a Knicks team that had been limiting opponents to 42.6% shooting.

“I thought offensively it was good. Defensively it’s not what we would have liked,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said.

The game’s start time was moved up four hours by the NBA to 1 p.m., though neither that nor the Knicks’ good early shooting seemed to bother the Clippers. New York made eight of its first 10 shots and led for a good part of the first half before the Clippers took a 66-65 edge into the break.

WIZARDS 149, NETS 146

WASHINGTON — Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook hit 3-pointers in a wild 3.8-second sequence in the final seconds to help Washington stun Kevin Durant and Brooklyn.

Westbrook had 41 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, and NBA scoring leader Beal had 37 points. In the fourth quarter, Beal had 22 points and Westbrook had 15. Durant, second in the NBA in scoring, also had 37 points.

With Washington down 146-141, Beal hit a 3-pointer with 8.1 seconds left. Garrison Matthews deflected Joe Harris’ inbounds pass to Westbrook and he made a 3 with 4.3 seconds left for a 147-146 lead.

Kyrie Irving found Timothe Luwawu-Carbarrot under the basket with 2.9 seconds left, but his layup attempt spun around the rim and failed to drop.

Brad Penner / Associated Press The Knicks’ RJ Barrett (9) controls the ball as the Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard defends during the first half on Sunday in New York.