The Los Angeles Clippers will be going for their fifth consecutive victory Friday night when they open a three-game road trip against the Toronto Raptors.
The surging Clippers took their fourth in a row and 11th win in the past 13 with a 119-105 home victory over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday.
Kawhi Leonard, who led the Raptors to the 2019 NBA championship in his only season with Toronto, had 33 points and four steals while going 7-for-11 on 3-point attempts. James Harden added 22 points.
Toronto also won on Wednesday, 115-101 on the road over the Indiana Pacers with Brandon Ingram scoring 30 points.
This will be the first meeting of the season between the Clippers and Raptors, who split two games last season.
The Clippers, who have played their way into playoff contention, were without Ivica Zubac (ankle) and John Collins (groin) against the Wizards. Leonard (ankle) was a game-time decision and played 30 minutes.
The Clippers led by as many as 24 points before the Wizards crept to within one late in the third quarter. Los Angeles regained control of the game with a 23-16 fourth quarter.
A major factor in the Clippers’ recent surge has been an improved defense, and it showed late against the Wizards.
“I told our guys that we shouldn’t have to have shootarounds,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “We should come in every night and know what we’re doing defensively, knowing what we’re doing offensively, how we want to attack. So, we’ve got to get to that point where we’re good enough to do that. But we just have to keep building defensively.
“And then offensively, (Harden) and (Leonard) are special enough offensively that we can get through, but it’s going to be our defense that pulls us through.”
The Clippers’ reserves were important in holding off the Wizards, notably Yanic Konan Niederhauser with 16 points from 7-for-7 shooting and Jordan Miller with 11 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
“Our young guys stepped up,” Lue said. “Jordan Miller and then Yanic was really good to just come off the bench to give us that energy we needed, I thought was huge for us.”
The Raptors also were undermanned on Wednesday, playing without Immanuel Quickley (back), RJ Barrett (ankle), Jakob Poeltl (back), Ja’Kobe Walter (hip) and Sandro Mamukelashvili (illness). Forward Jamison Battle left in the third quarter due to a right ankle sprain and did not return.
The depleted lineup meant role changes for some Raptors, including Scottie Barnes, who was often needed as a playmaker. He scored 26 points while contributing 13 assists and seven rebounds.
“(Barnes) just loves those moments,” Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said. “He did a great job organizing the team and putting his teammates in the right spots, attacking matchups, posting up the way it was needed. He definitely played a complete game.”
Reserve Gradey Dick had 21 points and 11 rebounds for his first career double-double.
The Raptors had to dig in late in the game when a 27-point lead dwindled to four.
“We showed a lot of maturity,” Dick said. “I think it shows a lot of resilience. We did a good job of coming together and extending our lead again and then finishing the game off right.”
Teammate Collin Murray-Boyles also had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
After the Friday game, Toronto will embark on a five-game road trip starting Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers.
