Clippers snap Jazz’s winning streak
LOS ANGELES: Kawhi Leonard returned from a leg injury to score 29 points as the revitalised Los Angeles Clippers beat the NBA-leading Utah Jazz in the second of a twogame set in Los Angeles.
With both Leonard and Paul George back in the line-up after sitting out with injuries, the Clippers held on to beat the Utah Jazz 116-112 to snap the team’s nine-game winning streak.
Leonard returned after a three-game absence due to a bruised leg, George missed seven-games with a sore toe. Both couldn’t play in the Clippers’ 114-96 home loss on Wednesday to the red-hot Jazz.
The Jazz’s trademark during their win streak has been finding different ways to get the job done, but that didn’t matter on Friday as they were out rebounded by the Clippers 45-38.
The Clippers had five players in double figures, including both Leonard and George, who scored 15 as they beat the Jazz for the first time this season. Lou Williams added 19 points, Patrick Beverley had 17 and Marcus Morris chipped in 17 off the bench for the Clippers.
In other games, Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid and Denver’s Jamal Murray each scored a career high 50 points, with Murray becoming the first ever to reach the mark without attempting a free throw and Embiid also grabbing a whopping 17 rebounds.
All-Star Embiid led the 76ers to a 112-105 victory over the Chicago Bulls. He added 17 rebounds, five assists, four blocks and two steals in a dynamic game in Philadelphia.
Canada’s Murray scored a regular season career-high 50 as the Nuggets crushed the Cleveland Cavaliers 120-103 in Cleveland.
Murray, who scored 50 points in two playoff games last season, surpassed his previous high of 48 points in Denver’s 115-107 win over the Boston Celtics in November 2018.