Kawhi Leonard scored 28 points, Bennedict Mathurin added 26 off the bench, and the Los Angeles Clippers outscored the Chicago Bulls in every quarter to win 119-108 on Friday night at Intuit Dome, closing out Chicago's five-game West Coast road trip with a 2-3 record. The Clippers, now 34-32, have won four straight and seven of their last eight games. The Bulls fall to 27-40.
Josh Giddey recorded his 11th triple-double of the season with 20 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists. Tre Jones scored 21 points on 10-of-11 shooting. Matas Buzelis added 18 points and 11 rebounds. But Chicago committed 15 turnovers against the Clippers' 6 — Los Angeles scored 17 points off those mistakes while the Bulls generated just 4 off Clipper turnovers — and shot only 29 percent from three on 12-of-41 attempts. The Bulls played the second night of a back-to-back, having fallen to the Lakers 142-130 the previous evening. Jalen Smith (right calf strain) and Isaac Okoro (knee injury) did not play. Darius Garland, the Clippers' trade-deadline acquisition, also sat out with left toe injury management.
Leonard and Mathurin Did the Damage
The Clippers set the tone early. Leonard scored 10 of his 28 points in the first quarter — including a 33-footer over the defense shortly after Giddey had his shot blocked on the other end — and Kobe Sanders added a three off a Kris Dunn assist as Los Angeles opened an 12-4 lead. Chicago called timeout and steadied itself: Richards hit a three off a Giddey assist, Giddey made a 30-footer, and by the end of the quarter the Bulls had trimmed it to 33-28. But the deficit was established, and Chicago trailed for 92 percent of the game, never leading by more than one.
The second quarter was closely contested. Giddey directed traffic and the Bulls' bench made an early impact — Rob Dillingham connected on a three off a Buzelis assist, Guerschon Yabusele hit a 23-footer off a Dillingham assist and then a 25-footer off a Giddey assist — as Chicago kept pace with a Clippers group that got contributions from multiple sources. Jordan Miller, Isaiah Jackson, and Mathurin all scored in the second quarter for Los Angeles. Halftime: Clippers 63, Bulls 57. The Bulls had not been beaten badly, but they hadn't forced a single moment of doubt on the Clippers' end.
The third quarter played out similarly, a trading-of-baskets affair that neither team broke open. Leonard shot 3-of-7 from the field in the period but Lopez hit a three, Mathurin scored 6 more, and Los Angeles maintained its six-point advantage heading into the fourth, 92-85. Chicago needed a decisive run in the fourth. It never came.
Mathurin took over in the closing quarter. He scored 13 of his 26 points in the fourth, using his athleticism to create driving opportunities and draw fouls — he made 5 of 6 free throws in the period — as the Clippers slowly extended their lead to double digits and held it there. Miller and Lopez added steady points and defense, and the Bulls, scoring only 23 points in the final twelve minutes, never threatened. The final: Clippers 119, Bulls 108.
Team Statistics
| Category | Clippers | Bulls |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | 46-96 (48%) | 42-95 (44%) |
| Three Pointers | 9-32 (28%) | 12-41 (29%) |
| Free Throws | 18-24 (75%) | 12-13 (92%) |
| Rebounds | 46 | 48 |
| Offensive Rebounds | 10 | 12 |
| Assists | 28 | 23 |
| Turnovers | 6 | 15 |
| Points off Turnovers | 17 | 4 |
| Steals | 8 | 5 |
| Blocks | 12 | 7 |
| Points in Paint | 70 | 56 |
| Fast Break Points | 13 | 12 |
| Largest Lead | 14 | 1 |
Giddey's Triple-Double Wasn't Enough
Tre Jones scored 21 points on 10-of-11 shooting in 30 minutes — all two-pointers, attacking downhill and converting in traffic — but finished -23, the worst plus-minus figure on either team. The two numbers tell the story of Chicago's night in miniature: the Bulls could score, but they couldn't stop anything. Jones's 21 points were real, and they helped keep the margin from getting uglier. But a -23 in a game decided by 11 reflects how often the Clippers were doing damage on the other end whenever he was involved.
Giddey's 11th triple-double of the season — 20 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists in 39 minutes — was the most complete performance on the floor for either team. He finished -1 for the game and was the primary reason Chicago stayed competitive through the middle quarters, directing the second-quarter run that kept the Bulls within six at halftime and providing secondary scoring alongside his distribution. He shot 8-of-20 from the field and 4-of-11 from three, which held his efficiency down, but his 2 turnovers were a minor contribution to a 15-turnover team total that proved to be the decisive factor. Los Angeles scored 17 points off Chicago's mistakes while the Bulls managed just 4 off Clipper turnovers. That 13-point differential alone accounts for more than the final margin.
Buzelis had 18 points and 11 rebounds in 34 minutes but shot 2-of-10 from three. His most effective stretches came off drives and mid-range attempts, and he pulled down 3 offensive rebounds that gave Chicago second chances it needed. Still, 2-for-10 from deep is hard to absorb in a game where the team shot 12-of-41 from three as a unit. The Bulls attempted threes at a high volume and didn't make enough of them. That's a pattern worth watching as the schedule tightens.
Off the bench, Yabusele was the brightest spot: 11 points on 4-of-6 from the field, including 3-of-3 from three in 20 minutes. Dillingham added 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting with 4 assists. Patrick Williams shot 0-of-7 from the field for 2 points, but finished +3 in 23 minutes and contributed 3 blocks on the defensive end — the kind of contribution that doesn't appear in the scoring column but matters on a night when the Clippers put up 70 points in the paint and had 12 blocks of their own.
The back-to-back context matters here, too. Chicago had played a full game against the Lakers less than 24 hours earlier, and most of the rotation logged heavy minutes on both nights. Playing the second game of a back-to-back in Los Angeles against a team that has won seven of its last eight — rested, at home, and with a clear identity — is a steep ask for any group. It was a steeper ask for this one, already short two useful players in Smith and Okoro.
Looking Ahead
The Bulls are now 27-40 and return home to host Memphis on Monday night. The West Coast road trip ended 2-3: wins in Phoenix and at Golden State, losses in Sacramento, at the Lakers, and Friday in Inglewood. The pattern of alternating wins and losses that has defined this stretch — competitive enough on good nights, inconsistent enough to lose the ones in between — continued to the end of the trip. Memphis arrives Monday at a favorable time on the schedule.
For the Clippers, Friday's win extended their winning streak to four games and moved them to a season-best two games above .500 at 34-32. After opening the year 6-21, Los Angeles has built itself into a legitimate play-in contender and holds a firm grip on eighth place in the Western Conference. Leonard's 44th consecutive game with at least 20 points tied the franchise record set by Bob McAdoo with the Buffalo Braves in 1974-75. The Clippers host Sacramento on Saturday night.