For their fifth straight victory, Kawhi Leonard leads the Clippers to a rout over the Celtics.
Boston — On Saturday night, the Clippers defeated the Boston Celtics 115-96 thanks to 26 points from Kawhi Leonard in just 29 minutes of play.
The Clippers, who used a 21-0 run in the third quarter to win their fifth straight and exact revenge on Boston for a 37-point home loss in December, had Paul George chip in with 17 points. The Clippers’ starters, including Leonard and George, sat for the whole fourth quarter.
Boston, which began the season 20-0 at TD Garden, lost for just the second time at home in what was by far their most lopsided defeat of the year.
At 21 points, Jayson Tatum led Boston. Nevertheless, as a team, the Celtics only managed to shoot 35% from the field (36 of 101) and 25% (10 of 40) from three points out.
The Clippers increased their 16-point halftime lead to 36 points in the third quarter, demonstrating no signs of weariness from playing on the second night of a back-to-back. They scored 64 points in the paint in the end.
Los Angeles took advantage of the interior weakness in the Celtics defense, which was missing seven-foot center Kristaps Porzingis due to a sprained left ankle.
It is unlikely that the center will miss much time, but the Clippers outplayed Boston in the halfcourt, forcing the Celtics to settle for jumpers.
Everything was on show during Los Angeles’ 21-0 run to take a 79-46 lead in the third quarter. A technical foul on Tatum and boos from an equally irate home crowd were part of the stretch.
