March 13, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) controls the ball in the second half of the game against the Chicago Bulls at the Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: William Liang-Imagn Image The Los Angeles Clippers, buried in the rankings on Christmas Day with one of the NBA’s worst records, will have playoffs on their minds when they face the Sacramento Kings on Saturday in Inglewood, California.
A 28-11 record since Dec. 20 will have the Clippers thinking about a tiebreaker scenario, and a win over the Kings could improve their Pacific Division record. Los Angeles has just three division games left, including two against the Kings.
Division record is the second tiebreaker after head-to-head matchups are considered for playoff seeding. Los Angeles is 34-32, two games over .500 for the first time this season, and sits in eighth place in the Western Conference standings.
The Clippers enter their second night of back-to-back games following Friday’s 119-108 win over the Chicago Bulls. It was their 4th straight win and 5th straight home win. Los Angeles is 7-1 in March.
Kawhi Leonard leads the way with 44 consecutive games with at least 20 points, matching Bob McAdoo’s franchise record. McAdoo made his mark when the team played in Buffalo during the 1974-75 season.
Leonard scored 28 points against the Bulls, and trade deadline addition Bennedict Mathurin had 26 points. Los Angeles played without Darius Garland (toe) on the deadline day but is expected to return against the Kings.
“He’s a winner,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said of Leonard. “He could have easily given up on us at 6-21 this season, but he came back with more fight.
“I think he’s a big reason why we’re where we are today because of his play. His play got him healthy and he carried us through the season. When Kawhi got healthy and started playing extended minutes, we took off.”
The Kings head to the Los Angeles area after losing 117-109 to the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday, falling to 4-21 since Jan. 18. But they won back-to-back games earlier this week for the first time since mid-January.
DeMar DeRozan had 39 points and Nique Clifford added 18 in Sacramento’s loss to the Charlotte Hornets. DeRozan passed Tim Duncan for 18th place on the career scoring list and currently has 26,505 points.
“I don’t take anything in this game for granted,” DeRozan said. “I never imagined coming to this league and playing for this long…. I’ve been a fan of the game since I was a kid, so it’s an honor to be in a position to achieve some goals in this league.
“It’s crazy just to be there. I love playing basketball. At the end of the day, you look up and this happens and it’s really cool.”
The Kings were without former Clippers guard Russell Westbrook due to a quadriceps contusion.
While the Clippers are looking to make the playoffs after a slow start, the 16-51 Kings are just one game ahead of the NBA’s worst Indiana Pacers (15-52).
–Field level media
