Los Angeles Clippers guard James Harden controls the ball during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Charlotte Hornets, Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)
James Harden scored 31 points with 10 rebounds and Kawhi Leonard added 23 points as the Los Angeles Clippers continued their March surge with a 123-88 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday at Inglewood, Calif.
Ivica Zubac had 17 points, 14 rebounds and a career-best eight assists as the Clippers (38-30) won for the sixth time in their last seven games, while extending their winning streak over the Hornets (17-50) to 14 games. They also have a 15-game home winning streak against the Charlotte franchise going back to 2010.
Derrick Jones Jr. scored 12 points for the Clippers, while Harden added seven assists.
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HARDEN, CLIPPERS WIN 6 OF LAST 7 🙌
31 PTS
10 REB
7 AST
4 3PM
2 STL pic.twitter.com/cMyyNQxVFG— NBA (@NBA) March 17, 2025
After missing 12 of the previous 13 games from multiple injuries, most recently a hamstring issue, Los Angeles leading scorer Norman Powell struggled in his return with seven points on 3-of-13 shooting.
Mark Williams scored 18 points with 15 rebounds and seven assists as the Hornets lost in a game originally scheduled for Jan. 11 but was postponed because of deadly wildfires in the Los Angeles area.
LaMelo Ball scored 16 points for Charlotte, which concluded a 2-2 road trip. The Hornets had won three of their last four games on the heels of a nine-game losing streak.
The game was tied with five minutes remaining in the first quarter before the Clippers took control with a 13-3 run for a 26-16 lead. Los Angeles led 32-21 after one quarter.
The Clippers dominated the second quarter as well and took a 65-41 lead into halftime by shooting 52.2 percent from the floor and going 6 of 10 from 3-point range.
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It was more of the same in the third quarter when Los Angeles outscored Charlotte 30-21 and ballooned the lead to 95-62.
The Clippers shot 48.4 percent in the game and went 13 of 26 from distance, while the Hornets shot 39.4 percent overall and went 6 of 33 from beyond the arc. Ball, a Los Angeles-area native, was 5 of 18 from the floor and 2 of 8 from 3-point range.
Powell played just shy of 23 minutes in his second game since Feb. 13. He missed five games with knee tendonitis and the previous seven with a hamstring strain.