Kawhi Leonard hit a go-ahead jumper with 0.4 seconds left to lift the visiting Los Angeles Clippers to a 114-113 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Friday in Indianapolis.
Darius Garland scored 30 and Leonard had 28 for Los Angeles (38-36), which trailed by 24 before rallying for its fourth straight win. Bennedict Mathurin scored 17 points off the bench, while Brook Lopez added 16.
Aaron Nesmith led Indiana (16-58) with 26 points, followed by Obi Toppin’s 20. Andrew Nembhard chipped in 13 points and 10 assists, while Micah Potter also scored 13. Pascal Siakam and Kobe Brown finished with 11 points apiece as the Pacers lost for the 18th time in 19 games.
Los Angeles cut its 10-point halftime deficit in half on Garland’s layup with 7:52 remaining in the third. Ben Sheppard’s layup opened the cushion back up to nine, but Los Angeles closed the gap to two after three quarters.
The Clippers tied the game with 6:13 left in the fourth on Mathurin’s layup, before Toppin and Siakam’s layups gave the Pacers a 105-101 lead.
Garland and Toppin then traded triples, before Nesmith’s fourth 3-pointer gave the Pacers a 111-105 edge at the 1:28 mark.
Leonard’s floater was followed by Nesmith’s missed 3-pointer and Garland’s two free throws, cutting Indiana’s lead to one. After Siakam’s missed jumper, Los Angeles rebounded and called timeout, leading to Leonard’s mid-ranger.
From there, Nembhard threw the ensuing inbounds pass away before Nesmith fouled Mathurin, who missed both free throws. The frenetic finish continued as Indiana then had another chance, this time with 0.1 seconds left. On the inbounds pass, Huff was fouled by Lopez.
Huff then missed both free throws to seal the bizarre ending.
Indiana’s early 13-0 run was stamped with Brown’s layup to give the Pacers a 21-11 lead. After Leonard’s 3-pointer cut into the run, Quenton Jackson’s five straight points began a 16-4 surge, pushing Indiana’s advantage to 37-18.
The Pacers made 8 of 11 3-pointers in the first quarter and took a 42-21 lead into the second.
Los Angeles pulled within 12 at the 3:45 mark of the second quarter after Leonard’s back-to-back baskets. After Siakam’s jumper pushed the margin back to 18, Mathurin scored six of the Clippers’ 8-0 spurt to finish the first half, slicing their halftime deficit to 60-50.
–Field Level Media
