Getty
Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Los Angeles Clippers dribbles the ball against Russell Westbrook #18 of the Sacramento Kings during the first quarter at Intuit Dome on December 30, 2025 in Inglewood, California.
Don’t look now, but the LA Clippers are cooking.
Kawhi Leonard and Co. won their fifth consecutive game on Tuesday with a 131-90 blowout victory over their Pacific Division rivals, the Sacramento Kings.
During the five-game winning streak, they’ve drubbed opponents by an average margin of 21.0 points, while averaging 118.6 points. That is quite the turnaround for a team that had a 6-21 record after a 122-101 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Dec. 18.
According to OptaSTATS, the Clippers’ turnaround marks the best five-game scoring margin for a team that was 15 or more games under .500 before the winning streak.
Clippers Beating Good Teams
Notably, the Clippers haven’t been beating only lottery-bound teams such as the Kings during their five-game winning streak. Tyronn Lue’s team registered impressive wins over the Detroit Pistons (25-8), Portland Trail Blazers (14-19), Houston Rockets (20-10) and the Los Angeles Lakers (20-11) before Tuesday’s win against Sacramento.
All five of those wins were by double-digit margins, with the Clippers shooting 49% from the field and 44% from three while averaging an impressive 15.2 stocks (blocks + steals). The latter stat is indicative of LA tightening the screws with its defense, which isn’t necessarily surprising given their personnel of Leonard and Kris Dunn — two of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA.
During the five-game stretch, Leonard is averaging a staggering 37.8 points on 53/46/96 shooting splits, to go with 2.8 steals and 1.4 blocks. Co-star James Harden has been equally impressive, tallying 26.6 points and 6.8 assists through five wins.
Can Clippers Make the Playoffs?
With Tuesday’s win, the Clippers improved to 11-21 for the season and find themselves just 2.5 games behind the 10th-seeded Trail Blazers. If they can sustain their momentum, the Clippers could potentially be a play-in or even a playoff-bound team before the end of January — a remarkable turnaround for a team that began 6-21.
Since the Clippers owe their 2026 first-round draft pick to the Thunder, they have no incentive to tank the season after notching up just six wins through the first 27 games. That would explain why Lue and Co. were more intent on righting the ship than hitting the reset button and possibly blowing up the roster.
At the start of the 2025-26 season, the Clippers were widely expected to be a top-4 seed in the Western Conference after they won 50 games last year. Their active offseason saw them land Brook Lopez, John Collins, Chris Paul and Bradley Beal, making them one of the deepest teams in the league. Furthermore, Kawhi Leonard entered training camp in arguably his best health in years, giving Clippers fans a lot to be optimistic about.
While Paul and Beal are no longer with the team, the Clippers still have one of the deepest rosters in the league. And if Leonard, who is averaging a career-high 27.8 points and still playing elite defense, sustains his form, watch out.
Sai Mohan covers the NBA for Heavy.com. Based in Portugal, Sai is a seasoned sports writer with nearly two decades of publishing experience, including bylines at Yardbarker, FanSided’s Hoops Habit, International Business Times, Hindustan Times and more. More about Sai Mohan
More Heavy on Clippers
Loading more stories