{"id":704712,"date":"2026-04-08T06:18:27","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T06:18:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/704712\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T06:18:27","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T06:18:27","slug":"kawhi-leonard-leads-clippers-to-victory-over-mavericks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/704712\/","title":{"rendered":"Kawhi Leonard leads Clippers to victory over Mavericks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n

\"AnKawhi Leonard’s scoring outburst powers the Clippers to a crucial victory over the Mavericks, showcasing the veteran forward’s enduring dominance on the court.Dallas Today<\/p>\n

Kawhi Leonard scored 34 points, including six three-pointers, as the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Dallas Mavericks 116-103 on Tuesday night. The Clippers built a 23-point lead early but had to rally in the second half after the Mavericks tied the game. Leonard scored 7 of the Clippers’ final 11 points to help them secure the victory.<\/p>\n

Why it matters<\/p>\n

This was an important win for the Clippers as they look to secure a playoff spot in the competitive Western Conference. Leonard’s continued strong play is crucial for the team’s postseason aspirations. The matchup also featured a showdown between Leonard, an established NBA star, and rookie Cooper Flagg, who is emerging as a promising young talent for the Mavericks.<\/p>\n

The details<\/p>\n

The Clippers jumped out to a 39-26 lead after the first quarter, shooting 68% from the field. However, the Mavericks rallied in the second quarter, tying the game at 47-47 on a three-pointer by Marvin Bagley III. The Clippers then closed the half on an 18-8 run to lead 65-55 at the break. In the second half, the Mavericks briefly took the lead, but Leonard scored 7 of the Clippers’ final 11 points to secure the victory.<\/p>\n

The game was played on Tuesday, April 8, 2026.Leonard has now scored 20 or more points in 55 straight games.<\/p>\n

The players<\/p>\n

Kawhi Leonard<\/a><\/p>\n

A veteran forward for the Los Angeles Clippers who scored 34 points, including 6 three-pointers, to lead his team to victory.<\/p>\n

Cooper Flagg<\/p>\n

A rookie forward for the Dallas Mavericks who scored 25 points and had 9 rebounds in the losing effort.<\/p>\n

Darius Garland<\/p>\n

A guard for the Los Angeles Clippers who scored 22 points in the win.<\/p>\n

Marvin Bagley III<\/p>\n

A forward for the Dallas Mavericks who scored 21 points and had 9 rebounds off the bench.<\/p>\n

Brook Lopez<\/p>\n

A center for the Los Angeles Clippers who had 11 rebounds in the game.<\/p>\n

Got photos? Submit your photos here. \u203a<\/a>
\n What they\u2019re saying<\/p>\n

\u201cKawhi was huge for us tonight. He carried us when we needed it and made the plays to get us the win.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Darius Garland, Guard, Los Angeles Clippers<\/p>\n

\u201cWe fought back and had our chances, but Kawhi was just too much for us down the stretch. He’s a great player and showed why tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Cooper Flagg, Forward, Dallas Mavericks<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next<\/p>\n

The Clippers will look to build on this win when they face the West-leading Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday in the second game of a back-to-back.<\/p>\n

The takeaway<\/p>\n

Kawhi Leonard’s continued dominance and the Clippers’ ability to withstand the Mavericks’ comeback attempt demonstrated the team’s resilience and star power as they push for a playoff spot in the competitive Western Conference.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a Kawhi Leonard’s scoring outburst powers the Clippers to a crucial…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":704713,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3793],"tags":[7,686,149,4057,166,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-704712","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas-mavericks","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-dallas","10":"tag-dallas-mavericks","11":"tag-dallasmavericks","12":"tag-mavericks","13":"tag-nba"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116367636275455728","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/704712","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=704712"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/704712\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/704713"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=704712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=704712"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=704712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}