In his injury comeback, Kawhi Leonard scored 24 points, Paul George added 23, and the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Miami Heat 121-104 on Monday night to win three games in a row.

After going 11-2 in December to record the best record in the West for the month, the Clippers continued their success into the new year. James Harden finished with 15 points and 10 assists, while Norman Powell scored 22 points off the bench.

“attempting to figure out how to win is preferable to attempting to figure out how to lose. Regarding the team’s six-game losing streak in November, Harden remarked, “That’s what was happening earlier.” “We look for strategies to win every game we play. We’ll then realise by the conclusion of the season what we excel at and what we don’t.”

After missing four games due to a hip contusion, Leonard returned. With him out, the Clippers managed to hold things down, winning 2-2.

Leonard reached 13,000 career points on a slam to start the fourth quarter. Before sitting out for the final 5:43 of the game, he had six rebounds and five assists. Later, he declined to speak with reporters.

Harden praised Leonard, saying, “You seen the performance, both ends of the ball just elite.” “Making shots, playing a proactive defensive role, and opening doors when things change. He was missed.

When he was scoreless in the first, Leonard had a poor start, missing both of his shot attempts.

However, Leonard came to play during the second quarter, scoring 13 points, including 10 consecutive ones, as the Clippers overcame a 14-point deficit to take a 59-58 lead into the half.

“Watching him get going was really encouraging,” said Tyronn Lue, the coach of the Clippers.

Leading the Heat with 21 points and 15 rebounds was Bam Adebayo. Coming off the bench, Kevin Love scored 17 more points. After missing time due to a head contusion, Kyle Lowry made a comeback and scored eight points.

Caleb Martin (ankle), Josh Richardson (back), and Jimmy Butler (foot) were among the Miami players absent. Butler was wounded on Saturday versus Utah. He will continue to undergo treatment even though an X-ray revealed no injury. Before then, he had missed four games due to a strained calf.

In the third quarter, the Clippers outscored Miami 14–8 to take a one-point lead to 73–63. Terance Mann and Harden each had five points. They had a 10-point advantage again after George sank back-to-back 3-pointers during a personal 8-0 run.

Erik Spoelstra, the coach of the Heat, stated, “Defensively we can be better.” “We struggled again in 1-on-1 situations.”

The Heat led 35–23 at the half thanks to 19 points apiece from reserve Duncan Robinson and Love. “That quarter was outstanding,” stated Spoelstra. “The rest of it was pretty sloppy.”

Love, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Powell, and Russell Westbrook, two former UCLA players, were the four players on the court. The Heat’s pair scored 32 points to the Clippers’ pair’s 10.

For Jaquez, who was performing on Mexican Heritage Night and was raised in Camarillo, approximately an hour away, it was a return visit.