INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The LA Clippers were looking for a way to hide their flaws and get back on track Saturday night at the Intuit Dome, and facing a Dallas Mavericks team missing five key players seemed like the right chance to do it. 

But rookie Cooper Flagg and a fourth-quarter explosion from Klay Thompson had other plans, as the Mavericks pulled out a gutsy 114-110 win and handed the Clippers their fourth straight loss.

The defeat drops LA to 5-15 on the season and extends their home losing streak to seven games, while Dallas improved to 6-15 despite playing without Anthony Davis, Daniel Gafford, and P.J. Washington, who was a late scratch after slipping on a basketball during pregame warmups.

The Clippers got exactly what they needed from their two biggest stars on Saturday. Kawhi Leonard poured in 30 points on 10-of-20 shooting with eight rebounds, marking his second straight 30-point game after dropping 39 against Memphis the night before. James Harden also did his part with 29 points, 11 assists, and eight rebounds, attacking the rim and getting to the free throw line, where he shot 17-of-19.

But it still wasn’t enough. The Clippers turned the ball over 18 times, and Dallas turned those mistakes into 20 points on the other end. Leonard kept his focus on the bigger picture despite the loss.

“It’s too early. We got 62 games left,” Leonard said after the game. “We just got to be better in the second half, and I mean the second quarter in the last three fourths of the season and see what we could do.”

Cooper Flagg, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, was the star of the night with a career-high 35 points on 13-of-22 shooting along with eight rebounds. His 35 points are the most scored by any rookie this season, and he became the second-youngest player in NBA history to record a 30-point game.

“Just staying with it,” Flagg said in his postgame interview. “We’ve got a lot of talented guys, so it’s going to be someone different every night. These guys just give me confidence, they tell me to go out there and be myself. I’m just figuring it out.”

Klay Thompson caught fire in the second half after a rough start to the season, scoring all 23 of his points after halftime and drilling six 3-pointers, including four in the fourth quarter. His final three with 1:51 remaining put Dallas ahead for good.

Flagg praised his veteran teammate after the game.

“We had some guys come alive,” Flagg said. “Obviously, Klay down the stretch in that fourth quarter, just came alive. I mean, he showed he’s Klay Thompson. He hasn’t gone anywhere. He’s consistent with his work, and that’s what happened.”

The Clippers got solid production from their starters, as all five reached double figures. John Collins added 21 points on 9-of-10 shooting with four rebounds, while Ivica Zubac finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds to give the Clippers a 46-37 edge on the boards.

The problem for LA was the bench, which combined for just five points on 2-of-14 shooting. Meanwhile, Dallas got strong contributions from Naji Marshall (18 points, eight rebounds) and Brandon Williams (14 points, seven assists) off the bench to keep the Mavericks in the game.

Ty Lue Running Out of Answers

Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue has been searching for solutions all season, and after Saturday’s loss he sounded like a coach running out of options.

“We’ve tried a lot of different things. We’ll keep trying. There’s no next step right now,” Lue said.

The frustration is understandable. The Clippers have now lost 13 of their last 14 games despite strong efforts from their star players, and the issues on defense and with depth continue to pile up.

“When you lose your best player, a top 10 player when he’s on the floor, it’s hard to really make up for that,” Lue said earlier this week about Leonard’s limited availability.

The Clippers will look to snap their losing streak when they host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night. Dallas heads home to take on the Portland Trail Blazers. 

Both teams are still searching for answers in what has been a difficult start to the 2025-26 season, but Saturday night belonged to Flagg and Thompson, who proved that even a shorthanded Mavericks squad can find a way to win.