Kawhi Leonard hits game winning shot for Los Angeles Clippers in his first game back from injury

Kawhi Leonard couldn’t have crafted a better return. Monday night marked Leonard’s first game back after sitting out with a sprained ankle. He last played on November 21 against the Utah Jazz.

The five-time All-Star scored 16 points, including an 18-foot jumper in 1.4 seconds to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 119-117 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.

“I don’t think anybody likes this game more than me,” Leonard said. ‘It gives me joy when I can play. And it was great to have been able to make that shot.’

Paul George also recovered from a strained hamstring to score 19 points and seven assists, helping the Clippers snap a two-game losing streak. Reggie Jackson and Nic Batum each had 13 points, and John Wall added 12 points and 12 assists.

Luke Kennard added nine points off the bench in his first game back from injury as well.

Charlotte’s Kelly Oubre scored 28 points and PJ Washington added 26 after going 0-for-13 Saturday night. Washington missed a jumper that faded as time expired that would have tied the game.

Getting Leonard, George and Kennard back should provide a big boost for the Clippers (14-11). Leonard has been out since Nov. 21, George since Nov. 19 and Kennard since Nov. 15 with a calf strain.

George said it’s ‘super important’ that everyone is healthy again and that it felt like the start of a new season.

“This is really a great opportunity to get back on track,” George said. “We were playing well when we were healthy and now we can start building the team we were trying to be.”

Victory was not easy.

The Hornets (7-17) outscored the Clippers 26-8 to start the third quarter behind eight points from Terry Rozier to take an 80-71 lead.

The Clippers tied it when George saved an offensive rebound by passing the ball to Leonard under the basket for an easy layup.

“We’ve got to get that rebound back,” Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. ‘It’s the second game this year, you make a play and they have to foul, we’re two up. That is the biggest play.

After Jalen McDaniels missed a 3-pointer on the other end, the Clippers found Leonard for an isolation play on the right side of the court.

He faked the ball to ice McDaniels, then dribbled once and stepped back to his left to drain the shot before high-fiving George and a flying chest-pump with Marcus Morris Sr.

“My teammates trusted me,” Leonard said. ‘I was able to put myself in my place and my team gave me space. I was able to knock down a shot.

ROCKETS 132, 76ERS 123, 2 ORyou

Jalen Green scored 27 points and Kevin Porter Jr. added 24 to lead Houston over Philadelphia as James Harden struggled to recover from injury.

Harden scored 21 points but shot 4-for-19 from the field in his first game since Nov. 2. Coach Doc Rivers said Harden, who spent just over eight seasons with the Rockets before being traded to Brooklyn in January 2021, would be on a minute restriction upon his return. But Harden didn’t seem too constrained and played 39 minutes.

He had missed 14 games with a strained tendon in his right foot. He missed all eight attempts inside the 3-point arc, but still he got to the line like he always does and made 9 of 10 free throws.

Joel Embiid scored 39 points before fouling out late in the first overtime and Tobias Harris added 27 as the Sixers fell for the third straight time.

CELTICS 116, RAPTORS 110

Jayson Tatum had 31 points and 12 rebounds, Jaylen Brown scored 22 points and Boston won for the seventh time in eight games, beating Toronto.

Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart scored 18 points for Boston after missing Sunday’s win at Brooklyn with a bruised left hip.

Blake Griffin scored 13 points and Luke Kornet had 11 for the Celtics, who own the best record in the NBA at 20-5. Boston is 16-2 since the season started 4-3.

Pascal Siakam scored 29 points, Scottie Barnes had 21 and Gary Trent Jr. 20, but Toronto lost for the first time in four home games. The Raptors are 9-3 north of the border this season.

MAVERICKS 130, SOLES 111

Luka Doncic scored 33 points, Spencer Dinwiddie added 21 and Dallas held on to a big lead over Phoenix this time.

The Mavericks remained in control after a 28-8 run that covered most of the last 10 minutes of the first quarter and ended a 10-game regular-season losing streak against the Western Conference-leading Suns.

Dallas blew a 22-point lead in the second half of a 107-105 loss at Phoenix in the season opener between teams that met in the West semifinals last season. Dallas won that series last spring with a Game 7 blowout at the Suns’ home court.

Deandre Ayton scored 20 points for the Suns, who couldn’t recover from a 15-point first quarter, their lowest total in any quarter this season, as they finished back-to-back Texas after a blowout victory in San Antonio.

DOLLARS 109, MAGIC 102

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored five of his 34 points in the final two minutes to help Milwaukee hold off a late Orlando attack.

Bobby Portis added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Bucks, and Jrue Holiday added 17 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.

Franz Wagner led Orlando with 25 points. Markelle Fultz and Paolo Banchero added 20 points each. Banchero also had 12 rebounds for the Magic, who lost their ninth straight game.

Antetokounmpo, Sandro Mamukelashvili and Holiday hit 3-pointers in Milwaukee’s 16-0 run midway through the first half, while Orlando went scoreless for 5 1/2 minutes. The streak left the Bucks with an 11-point lead that they extended to 15 at midterm.

GRIZZLIES 101, HEAT 93

Tyus Jones had 28 points and a career-high 10 assists to lead a shorthanded Memphis over Miami.

Santi Aldama added 18 points and Dillon Brooks finished with 17 for Memphis, which was without leading scorer Ja Morant and several other key players.

Tyler Herro led the Heat with 23 points and 13 rebounds. Jimmy Butler, who only had one field goal in the first half, scored 18 and Caleb Martin finished with 16 for the Heat.

Both teams entered the game having won four of their previous five games, and that included a Memphis win over Detroit on Sunday. But playing the second night in a row meant several Grizzlies besides Morant were unavailable. Three of the five most recent starters (Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr. and John Konchar) sat out, leaving plenty of minutes for reserves and two-way players.

THUNDER 121, HAWKS 114

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 35 points, Josh Giddey had 12 of his 17 points in the final period and Oklahoma City overcame a 14-point deficit in the third quarter to beat Atlanta.

Dejounte Murray finished with 24 points and Trae Young had 23 points and 10 assists for the Hawks (13-11), who have blown six double-digit leads this season. They began the night tied for second in the NBA in that category.

Winning its third straight game, Oklahoma City (11-13) outscored its last three opponents 106-68 in the fourth. The Thunder trailed 88-84 entering the final period.

Giddey’s three-point play early in the quarter made it 91-90 for the Thunder’s first lead since the end of the first. They never trailed behind again as Gilgeous-Alexander, the league’s third leading scorer, kept hitting free kicks down the stretch. He scored 12 points in the quarter and went 15 of 15 from the free throw line.

INDIANA 112, WARRIORS 104

Rookie guard Andrew Nembhard had a career-high 31 points and 13 assists to lead the Pacers to a win over the Warriors in Golden State.

Buddy Heild was the Pacers’ next leading scorer with 17 points, as the team was also without point guard Tyrese Haliburton.

Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole did their best scoring 20+, but it wasn’t enough to sustain a win.