This archive report was first published on 12 November 2019.
On a night that saw Kawhi Leonard face off against his former team, the Los Angeles Clippers emerged victorious over the reigning NBA champion Toronto Raptors, winning 98-88.
Leonard, who led the Raptors to an NBA title in June, had a difficult night, shooting only 2-of-11 from the floor and 0-of-4 from three-point range. However, his teammates stepped up to the challenge, with Lou Williams coming off the bench for a game-high 21 points.
"Just compete on the defensive end, contest their shots and get back on transition," Leonard said, attributing the Clippers' late success to their defensive efforts.
The Raptors, who were without injured Kyle Lowry, lost forward O.G. Anunoby to injury after just two minutes on the court. Pascal Siakam led the team with 16 points and 10 rebounds, but it was not enough to overcome the Clippers' late surge.
Meanwhile, in other NBA action, the Boston Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks 116-106, despite a 29-point performance from Kemba Walker being cut short by an injury. Jaylen Brown added 25 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Celtics to their eighth consecutive win.
James Harden continued his impressive start to the season, scoring 39 points to lead the Houston Rockets to a 122-116 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans. Harden now has 373 points in 10 games, the fastest player to reach this milestone since Rick Barry in 1967.
