March 11, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; LA Clippers forward Nochard Omier (55) shoots against Minnesota Timberwolves forward Joe Ingles (7) in the second half at the Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Image Kawhi Leonard scored 45 points and Benedict Maturin added 22 points. The Los Angeles Clippers continued their hot streak with a 153-128 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Inglewood, California last March.
Darius Garland had 21 points and Jordan Miller had 14 as the Clippers improved to 6-1 and qualified for this month’s play-in tournament. Los Angeles (33-32) became the first team in NBA history to go above .500 after being behind 15 games or fewer in the same season. It was Leonard’s fifth game this season with at least 40 points and his second against the Timberwolves.
The Clippers posted their highest scoring performance of the season and are 15-5 at home since Dec. 20, when they lost 94-88 at home to the Timberwolves on Feb. 26.
Anthony Edwards scored 36 points and Naz Reed added 18 points as Minnesota fell to its third straight loss. Jaden McDaniels, Julius Randle and Jaylen Clark each had 11 points for the Timberwolves, who have fallen from third to fifth in the Western Conference during the current decline.
Pelicans 122, Raptors 111
Trey Murphy III scored a game-high 28 points to help New Orleans beat visiting Toronto and give the Pelicans their seventh win in their last 10 games.
Dejounte Murray scored a season-high 27 points and Zion Williamson added 19 for New Orleans, which shot 51.5% from the floor.
The win derailed the return of former Pelicans star Brandon Ingram, who was in his first season in Toronto after spending the previous six seasons in New Orleans. Ingram had 22 points and Emmanuel Quickley had 25 as Toronto suffered its fourth loss in five games.
Magic 128, Cavaliers 122
Desmond Bane scored 35 points, including five in the final 18 seconds, and Orlando beat visiting Cleveland for the Magic’s fifth straight win.
Paulo Banchero had 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists and Tristan da Silva added 23 points for the surging Magic, who moved into a tie for fifth in the Eastern Conference with the Toronto Raptors. Cleveland is in fourth place, three games ahead of the two.
James Harden scored 30 points, his most since joining the Cavaliers in a trade from the Los Angeles Clippers, and had five rebounds and eight assists. Donovan Mitchell scored 25 points and Keion Ellis had 20 off the bench for Cleveland.
Knicks 134, Jazz 117
Jordan Clarkson scored 17 of his season-high 27 points during New York’s decisive surge in the final 16 minutes, which overcame an 18-point halftime deficit to beat Utah in Salt Lake City.
Jalen Brunson scored 28 points for the Knicks and converted a 3-pointer to put New York ahead 96-94 with 1.6 seconds left in the third quarter. OG Anunoby had 22 points, Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 and Mohamed Diawara added 10 off the bench.
Brice Sensabaugh scored 29 points, leading five players in double figures, and the Jazz lost for the 17th time in 22 games after making 14 of their first 18 3-point attempts, including eight straight in the first quarter.
Nugget 129, Rocket 93
Nikola Jokic had 16 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds, Jamal Murray had a game-high 30 points and host Denver beat Houston to close the gap in the Western Conference standings.
Houston is ranked 3rd in the West Division and is ahead of 6th place Denver by 1 1/2 games. In the West, four teams are locked in a game for the third seed. Christian Brown scored 19 points, Cameron Johnson had 17 and Tim Hardaway Jr. added 14 for the Nuggets, who won the season series 3-1.
Amen Thompson had 16 points, Josh Okogie had 12, Kevin Durant and Jabari Smith Jr. each had 11 and Alperen Sengun had 10 for the Rockets, who beat the Raptors at home on Tuesday night.
Hornets 117, Kings 109
Miles Bridges had 9 of his 26 points in a key third quarter, LaMelo Ball and Kon Knueppel had 11 3-pointers and 54 points, and Charlotte rallied from a halftime deficit to win in Sacramento.
In a matching team match won 24 hours earlier, Ball scored a team-high 30 points, Knueppel had 24 and Brandon Miller added 20 for Charlotte, which earned its eighth win in its last 10 games.
DeMar DeRozan poured in a season-high 39 points for the Kings, who ended a rare two-game winning streak. After falling behind by five points in the first half, the Hornets tied the score at 73 six minutes into the third period and took the lead with an 11-2 lead.
–Field level media
