NBA: Led by Kawhi Leonard, Clippers halt skid with victory over Pelicans

Kawhi Leonard scored 23 points, and four teammates reached double figures as the Los Angeles Clippers ended a three-game losing streak with a 137-117 victory over the visiting New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday night.

Jordan Miller added 19 points, Derrick Jones Jr. scored 17, Brook Lopez had 16, and John Collins returned from a two-game absence to contribute 15 points for the Clippers.

For New Orleans, rookie Jeremiah Fears came off the bench to score a season-high 28 points, while fellow rookie Derik Queen added 19. Dejounte Murray scored 17, Trey Murphy III returned from a five-game absence due to a right shoulder contusion to add 16, and Saddiq Bey had 14 points. The Pelicans, who had won four straight games, were without Zion Williamson, whose career-best 35-game streak ended due to an ankle injury sustained the night before in a 115-105 win over Utah.

The Pelicans were completing a back-to-back and a stretch of three games in four days to start a six-game road trip. New Orleans trailed by as many as 18 points in the first half and by six at halftime but briefly closed the gap to 85-84 midway through the third quarter. The Clippers responded with an 18-4 run to rebuild a 15-point lead and led 107-94 entering the fourth quarter.

L.A. extended the lead to 16 points early in the final quarter and maintained control the rest of the way. The Clippers opened the game on a 6-0 run and led 32-15 in less than nine minutes, shooting 60 percent (15 of 25) in the first quarter. New Orleans managed to narrow the gap to 43-32 by the end of the period.

The Clippers stretched the lead to 18 early in the second quarter before Murray's dunk brought the Pelicans within 52-43. L.A. again built an 18-point lead, but New Orleans scored the final nine points of the half to trail 76-70 at halftime.

-Field Level Media/Reuters