Lakers hold off Clippers as Kawhi Leonard exits late with left ankle soreness

The Los Angeles Lakers won Friday, and the Los Angeles Clippers are hoping that's the only bad news.

Clippers star Kawhi Leonard left the game with five minutes left in the fourth quarter due to left ankle soreness, the team announced. The exit came at a critical juncture, with the Clippers down by three with five minutes left.

That wound up being significant. The Clippers did an admirable job of hanging around, but took another blow when Bennedict Mathurin's 26-point night ended with him fouling out. The Lakers pulled out a 125-122 win, behind 38 points and 11 assists from Luka Dončić.

It nearly ended in disaster for the Lakers, though. With a three-point deficit and 9.7 seconds left, the Clippers stole the inbounds pass and got the ball to an open Nicholas Batum for a would-be game-tying 3-pointer. The shot missed, and LeBron James brought down the game-sealing rebound.

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It wasn't the prettiest game for the Lakers, who opened the game by making 16 of 19 shots in the first quarter only to blow a 16-point lead, but it's a victorious first step with James, Dončić and Austin Reaves all together. That trio has only played 11 games together all season.

James finished with 13 points on 5-of-13 shooting and 11 assists, while Reaves had 29 points on 9-of-15 shooting in his first game without a minutes restriction since returning from a calf injury.

Leonard,who had some interesting thoughts on the Clippers' playoff chances the previous night, had 31 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds in 31 minutes. Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue said after the game that the star has been dealing ankle soreness for some time and"it got stiff on him" Friday night.

Lue also had some choice words for how the Lakers were running their offense:

"When you're foul baiting the whole game… it's tough. These guys are already great players… We did everything we could."

The Clippers entered the game as quietly one of the hottest teams in the NBA, having won 21 of 28 games since hitting rock bottom on Dec. 19. Friday was a chance to reach .500 on the season, but they now sit at 27-29 and still in a battle for play-in tournament positioning.

byLiam Oneel

in

February 20, 2026

Lakers hold off Clippers as Kawhi Leonard exits late with left ankle soreness

The Los Angeles Lakers won Friday, and the Los Angeles Clippers are hoping that's the only bad news. Cli...

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No. 22 Miami (Ohio) remains lone unbeaten in Division I with 91-77 win over Bowling Green

OXFORD, Ohio (AP) — Luke Skaljac scored a career-high 22 points, Eian Elmer had 21 and No. 22 Miami University remained the lone unbeaten team in Division I with a 91-77 victory over Bowling Green on Friday night.

Bowling Green Miami Ohio Basketball

The RedHawks (27-0, 14-0 Mid-American Conference) got 10 points each from Peter Suder and Antwone Woolfolk to help extend their home winning streak to 30, tying Duke for the nation's longest.

Javontae Campbell led Bowling Green (16-12, 7-8) with 24 points. Josiah Shackelford and Mayar Wol each had 12.

Cleveland Browns star Myles Garrett was among the sellout crowd 10,127 at Millett Hall.

The RedHawks have had some close calls during their record streak with six games decided by five or fewer points and three overtime wins. Bowling Green kept Friday's game relatively close for a while.

Bowling Green led 21-19 in the first half, but the RedHawks responded with a 10-0 run.

Skaljac scored 16 of his points in the first half and went 3 of 5 from three-point range helping Miami build a 45-30 halftime lead.

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Miami led by 18 points early in the second half, but Wol's 3-pointer got the Falcons within eight with 13:06 left. The RedHawks committed 12 turnovers helping the Falcons keep it close.

Skaljac's fifth 3-pointer increased Miami's lead to 66-51 with nine minutes left. His previous career-best for points was 19 at Buffalo on Feb. 3.

Elmer hit back to back 3-pointers to make it 85-64 with 2:56 left. Elmer made 5 of 8 3-point attempts. The RedHawks went 13 of 30 from 3-point range.

It was the 155th meeting between the two schools. Miami leads the series 94-61, including a 93-83 win on Dec. 30.

Up next

Bowling Green: Hosts Western Michigan on Tuesday night.

Miami: At at Eastern Michigan on Tuesday night.

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign uphereandhere(AP News mobile app). AP college basketball:https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-pollandhttps://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

byLiam Oneel

in

February 20, 2026

No. 22 Miami (Ohio) remains lone unbeaten in Division I with 91-77 win over Bowling Green

OXFORD, Ohio (AP) — Luke Skaljac scored a career-high 22 points, Eian Elmer had 21 and No. 22 Miami University remained ...

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Lionel Messi, Son Heung-Min ready to clash as Miami opens at LAFC

The two most valuable clubs in MLS clash when Lionel Messi's Inter Miami visit Son Heung-Min's Los Angeles FC in the league opener for both on Saturday night.

After preseason injury scares for both clubs, it looks as if each side could be close to full strength for the clash that has been moved to the much larger Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Messi, the reigning MLS Golden Boot winner and two-time reigning MVP, has returned to training for Miami after a mild hamstring injury led to the postponement of the team's final preseason friendly in Puerto Rico.

"It was unfortunate, of course, that we weren't able to go," manager Javier Mascherano said in Spanish. "Not only because it would've given us the opportunity to visit a country we haven't had the chance to visit in recent years, but also because it would've been valuable preparation to face an opponent like Independiente del Valle."

As the Herons begin their MLS Cup title defense, they also learned this week that new striker signee German Berterame will be available after receiving his work visa.

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Without Berterame, the Herons may have returned 39-year-old Luis Suarez to a starting role after he came off the bench throughout last year's playoff run. Or they could've played Messi at the top of a 4-3-3 as they did during those postseason fixtures.

Meanwhile, Son didn't play in any preseason exhibitions for the Black and Gold while dealing with a minor, unspecified lower-body injury. But the Korean star quieted any major concerns in a masterful performance in LAFC's CONCACAF Champions Cup opener on Tuesday night.

The 33-year-old started, scored one goal and assisted three more over a 61-minute shift in a 6-1 romp at Real Espana of Honduras in Leg 1 of their first-round series.

Denis Bouanga was the biggest beneficiary, scoring a hat trick to give LAFC a seemingly insurmountable lead heading into next week's return leg. That likely will free first-year manager Marc Dos Santos to push his regulars for more minutes against Miami.

"The feeling is very good," Bouanga said postgame. "I'm very happy to score three. My team, my teammates helped me for this hat trick. I say thank you for the five (goal lead), and thank you to my team for that."

--Field Level Media

byLiam Oneel

in

February 20, 2026

Lionel Messi, Son Heung-Min ready to clash as Miami opens at LAFC

The two most valuable clubs in MLS clash when Lionel Messi's Inter Miami visit Son Heung-Min's Los Angeles F...

Read More