Overview
- Los Angeles blew a 21-point lead before pulling away late, with Leonard scoring 20 in the fourth and hitting four 3-pointers as James Harden finished with 20, and the Clippers improved to 12-21.
- Utah was without Keyonte George, Lauri Markkanen and Jusuf Nurkic, and reserves Kyle Anderson (22 points) and Brice Sensabaugh (20) led the Jazz.
- The run follows a 6-21 start; per OptaSTATS, the prior five wins produced the best five-game point margin ever by a team 15-plus games under .500 entering that span.
- Reporting from The Athletic indicates the Clippers are not preparing a fire sale before the deadline, a stance aligned with their 2026 first-round pick owed to the Thunder.
- Injury updates: Ivica Zubac has begun on-court work toward a mid-January return from a Grade 2 ankle sprain, and Bogdan Bogdanovic will miss at least two more games with a hamstring issue.