Los Angeles Lakers @ LA Clippers
Thursday, January 22, 2026 at 10:00 PM ET
Intuit Dome, Inglewood, CA | Game ID: 22500633
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
LAC 36 28 22 26 112LAL 29 18 25 32 104
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Kawhi Leonard's 24 points help Clippers hold off Lakers in tight fourth quarter
INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- — Kawhi Leonard scored 24 points — his career-high 23rd consecutive game with at least 20 — and the Los Angeles Clippers survived a tight fourth quarter to beat Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers 112-104 on Thursday night.
The Clippers have won seven of eight and 14 of 17 as they continue their upward climb from the depths of the Western Conference. Leonard, who missed a stretch when his team had nearly bottomed out in the standings, has a left knee contusion but he didn't sit for long in the fourth.
LeBron James scored 4 points and Doncic hit a 3-pointer to cap a 19-7 run that closed the Lakers within two.
James Harden answered Doncic's 3 with one of his own as the Clippers ran off 10 in a row to stay in front, 103-91.
But the Lakers weren't done yet. James hit a jumper and completed a three-point play in an 11-2 run that drew them within three.
Ivica Zubac 's reverse dunk and John Collins ' 3-pointer extended the Clippers' lead to eight points and they closed it out on Harden's pair of free throws.
Luka Doncic had 32 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists and James added 23 points. The Lakers fell to 5-6 in their last 11.
Harden had 18 points and 10 assists and Zubac added 18 points and 19 rebounds for the Clippers, who had seven players in double figures.
Leonard, Harden and Zubac combined to score the Clippers' first 15 points of the third, extending their lead to 26 points — largest of the game.
From there, the Lakers outscored them 19-7 to go into the fourth trailing 86-72. James opened the spurt with a 3-pointer and ended it with a huge dunk off Harden's turnover after Doncic chipped in 9 points in the quarter.
The Clippers dominated the first half, outscoring the Lakers 17-7 — including nine in a row — over the final minutes to go into halftime leading 64-47.
Doncic scored just three of his 17 first-half points in the second quarter when Leonard led the bench against Doncic and James. The Clippers shot 59% from the floor while limiting the Lakers to 42%.
The Lakers were still without Austin Reaves (calf strain), although coach JJ Redick expects him back soon.
Up next Lakers: Visit the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday to open a six-game trip against Doncic's old team.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
LALDA D. Ayton
DT D. Timme
DO Doncic
GV G. Vincent
JH J. Hayes
JL J. LaRavia
JV J. Vanderbilt
LD L. Dončić
LJ L. James
MS M. Smart
RH R. Hachimura
LACBL B. Lopez
IZ I. Zubac
JC J. Collins
JH J. Harden
JM J. Miller
KD K. Dunn
KL K. Leonard
KS K. Sanders
NB N. Batum
LAL/LAC the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur