INGLEWOOD, Calif. — — James Harden had 24 points and 12 rebounds, Norman Powell added 24 points and the Los Angeles Clippers hang on to beat the Toronto Raptors 105-103 on Saturday night for their fourth straight victory.
Ivica Zubac finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Clippers, who have won three straight at Intuit Dome after starting 0-4 in their lavish new home.
Los Angeles nearly gave the game away late after leading by eight points with 5:06 remaining in the fourth quarter. Late turnovers and missed free throws gave the Raptors a chance and they nearly capitalized on the Clippers miscues.
“The biggest thing that I keep telling our team is that we have to run through the game,” Lue said. “Even though we’re up 10, we need to get stops for four minutes, push it. First see if we can get a layup and then if not, we can bring it out and try to run.”
With 6.0 seconds remaining Raptors center Jakob Poeltl missed his second free throw purposely and got his own rebound, put the shot up and nearly sent things into overtime.
Los Angeles was coming off of a tough game the day before against the Sacramento Kings but found a way to when with some really tired guys.
“I know a few of our guys were tired, but this is when you have to fight through mentally,” Lue said. “I know Norm was tired from the jump and what he’s been doing for us offensively, but we needed every minute he could give us tonight. I know he was tired and (Ivica) Zubac was a little tired but we had to win this game.”
The Clippers will look to take their winning streak on the road next week with a matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder and two games against the Houston Rockets.
Kawhi Leonard still hasn’t played this season while rehabilitating his right knee and won’t travel on the Clippers’ upcoming three-game trip, coach Tyronn Lue said.
