Clippers win again:
With Paul George scoring 22 points and James Harden recording a triple-double with 14 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists, the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the visiting Chicago Bulls 112-102 on Saturday afternoon. The Clippers upped their game in the third quarter.
The Clippers overcame a 10-point deficit in the third quarter to win for the fourth time in their previous five games thanks to 21 points and nine rebounds from Kawhi Leonard, 16 points and nine rebounds from Ivica Zubac, and 18 points from Norman Powell.
In the Bulls' comeback to Los Angeles, DeMar DeRozan scored 24 points with 10 assists, while Nikola Vucevic contributed 22 points and 11 rebounds. They both attended Southern California.
Chicago lost the last game of a four-game road trip through the Western Conference, despite having Coby White score 19 points and Ayo Dosunmu chip in with 13.
The Bulls seized control early on, leading 29–23 at the end of the first quarter and 57–46 at the half after a leaning 3-pointer by Dosunmu at the second-quarter buzzer.
Before Los Angeles took control, leading 76-71 after Harden's alley-oop pass to Zubac, who scored a slam, Chicago was leading 67-57 in the third quarter. With a gradual advantage, the Bulls led 85-83 going into the fourth quarter.
With 5:52 left, Powell's drive to the hoop and dunk gave Los Angeles a 100-95 lead. With 4:13 left, George's zigzag drive to the hoop gave the Clippers a 104-95 lead.
With 3:16 remaining, Harden made a step-back 3-pointer to give Los Angeles its first double-digit lead, 107-97. The rest of the way, the Bulls never mounted a challenge.
Los Angeles shot 50% from the field, compared to Chicago's 43.0%.