March 9, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; LA Clippers’ center Brook Lopez (11) controls the ball against New York Knicks’ center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) in the first half at the Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Image Kawhi Leonard had 29 points, eight assists and seven rebounds and the Los Angeles Clippers reached .500 for the first time in more than four months with a 126-118 win over the visiting New York Knicks on Monday night.
Bennedict Mathurin added 28 points and seven rebounds off the bench as Los Angeles kept its record even at 32-32. The Clippers most recently broke even in a 3-3 loss to the Miami Heat on Nov. 3.
Los Angeles bottomed out at 6-21 and had a long upswing.
Darius Garland hit five 3-pointers and had 23 points and seven assists as the Clippers earned their fifth win in six games. Brook Lopez and Derrick Jones Jr. added 16 points each for Los Angeles.
Karl-Anthony Towns scored 35 points on 13-of-17 shooting and had 12 rebounds and seven assists before fouling out for New York.
Jalen Brunson had 28 points and eight assists, OG Anunoby had 22 points and Josh Hart had 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Knicks, who fell to 1-2 in a five-game road trip.
The Clippers shot 46.2 percent and 18 of 39 on 3-pointers (46.2 percent).
New York made 51.1% of its attempts and 14 of 40 (35%) from behind the arc. The Knicks held a 51-36 rebounding advantage.
Mikal Bridges hit a 3-pointer with 9:50 left in the game to put New York up 92-86.
Garland scored the next five points and Leonard converted a 3-point play to cap an 8-2 run, pushing Los Angeles’ lead to 100-88 with 8:45 to play.
The Knicks later moved to within 109-104 on Anunoby’s 3-pointer with 3:56 left. Lopez stopped the momentum with a straight 3-pointer 17 seconds later.
Hart’s 3-point play brought New York back within five with 2:36 left, but Mathurin converted the 3-point play to put Los Angeles ahead 115-107 with 2:03 remaining.
Jones added a trey and Leonard hit two free throws to give the Clippers an 11-point lead with 1:18 left.
Towns drained a 30-foot 3-pointer with 7:31 left in the third quarter to bring the Knicks within six.
With the Clippers leading 64-55, Leonard scored 21 points in the first half alone. Towns (21) and Brunson (19) combined for New York’s 40 points in the first half.
Los Angeles led 88-81 heading into the final quarter.
–Field level media
