NEW YORK (AP) — James Harden had 29 points, six rebounds and six assists, Kawhi Leonard scored 27 points and the Los Angeles Clippers prevented the New York Knicks from clinching a playoff berth with a 126-113 victory Wednesday night.
Norman Powell added 19 points and Ivica Zubac finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Clippers, who improved to 41-31 and tied Golden State for sixth place in the Western Conference, the final guaranteed postseason place.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 34 points and 13 rebounds for the Knicks, who were looking to follow Cleveland and Boston and become the third team to wrap up a spot in the East.
The Knicks started impressively on the second night of a back-to-back, going 8 for 9 en route to an 18-5 lead. But the Clippers blew by them with a 16-3 run to end the third quarter and broke it open in the fourth.
Takeaways
Clippers: Los Angeles bounced back from a loss to Oklahoma City that snapped its five-game winning streak and got off to a good start on a four-game road trip as it tries to avoid the play-in tournament.
Knicks: The Knicks fell to 5-5 without Jalen Brunson (sprained right ankle) and are running out of point guards. Deuce McBride, his original replacement, was out with a strained left groin and Cam Payne missed the second half after spraining his right ankle while scoring 15 points in the first half.
Key moment
With the Clippers down 81-78, Harden scored their next 11 points, hitting three 3-pointers, to power the 16-3 finish to the third quarter.
Key stat
A night after his first triple-double with the Knicks, Towns had his 18th game with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds, tying Patrick Ewing for third-most in a season by a Knicks player.
Up nextThe Clippers stay in New York to visit Brooklyn on Friday. The Knicks visit Milwaukee on Friday.
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| STARTERS | PTS | REB | AST | PF |
| J. Harden | 29 | 6 | 6 | 3 |
| K. Leonard | 27 | 10 | 7 | 3 |
| N. Powell | 19 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| I. Zubac | 18 | 10 | 2 | 2 |
| K. Dunn | 9 | 3 | 6 | 4 |
| BENCH | PTS | REB | AST | PF |
| D. Jones Jr. | 12 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| N. Batum | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| B. Bogdanovic | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| B. Simmons | 2 | 8 | 2 | 2 |
| P. Mills | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D. Eubanks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| K. Brown | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| A. Coffey | – | – | – | – |
| P. Baldwin Jr. | – | – | – | – |
| T. Flowers | – | – | – | – |
| C. Christie | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 126 | 45 | 27 | 21 |
| STARTERS | PTS | REB | AST | PF |
| K. Towns | 34 | 14 | 4 | 2 |
| O. Anunoby | 28 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| M. Bridges | 17 | 4 | 9 | 2 |
| C. Payne | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Hart | 7 | 5 | 6 | 3 |
| BENCH | PTS | REB | AST | PF |
| L. Shamet | 6 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| P. Achiuwa | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| D. Wright | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| T. Kolek | 0 | 1 | 7 | 2 |
| M. Beauchamp | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| M. Robinson | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| A. Watson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| P. Tucker | – | – | – | – |
| P. Dadiet | – | – | – | – |
| K. McCullar Jr. | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 113 | 38 | 35 | 14 |