LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Kawhi Leonard marked his first NBA game in more than a year with 14 points and seven rebounds on Thursday to help the Los Angeles Clippers down the crosstown rival Lakers, 103-97.
The Clippers, who hope Leonard’s return from a torn knee ligament will take them to a first NBA title, beat the 17-time champion Lakers for the eighth straight time.
Paul George scored 15 points and John Wall chipped in 15 in his first game for the Clips.
“It’s amazing,” Leonard said of playing on a full-strength Clippers team. “You see tonight, everybody is out there contributing on the defensive end and on the offensive end.”
Leonard, who won titles with the San Antonio Spurs and Raptors, came off the bench for the first time since 2013 and played 21 minutes.
For the Lakers, it was a second straight defeat to start the season, but coach Darvin Ham said he liked the fight he saw from LeBron James, Anthony Davis and company.
James finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds and Davis scored 25 points with eight rebounds despite hurting his back in a hard fall in the third quarter.
Russell Westbrook had another nightmarish outing, scoring just two points on free throws as he went 0-for-11 from the field.
He did contribute defensively as the Lakers erased two sizeable deficits.
– Bucks hold off 76ers –
The day’s other game was a back and forth affair as Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks withstood a fourth-quarter surge from the 76ers to launch their NBA season with a 90-88 victory in Philadelphia.
Two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Antetokounmpo, who led the Bucks to the 2021 title, flirted with a triple-double with 21 points, 18 rebounds and eight assists as the Bucks handed the Sixers their second defeat of the fledgling season.
James Harden scored 16 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter to lead a Philadelphia comeback bid that featured a 13-0 scoring run and saw the 76ers take the lead at 86-84 with less than two minutes to play.
