Harden records a double-double to send Clippers past sluggish Charlotte 123-88

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Charlotte Hornets guard Wendell Moore Jr. dunks during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Clippers, Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)

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Los Angeles Clippers guard Kobe Brown, left, blocks Charlotte Hornets forward Moussa Diabate, center, during the second half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)

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Los Angeles Clippers guard Amir Coffey reacts after missing a shot during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Charlotte Hornets, Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)

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Los Angeles Clippers guard Ben Simmons (25) drives the ball against Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges, left, during the second half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)

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Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams (5) gets a rebound over Los Angeles Clippers guards Ben Simmons, left, and Bogdan Bogdanovic, right, during the second half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)

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Los Angeles Clippers forward Derrick Jones Jr. reacts after making a 3-point basket during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Charlotte Hornets, Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)

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Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges, left, passes the ball while defended by Los Angeles Clippers center Ivica Zubac (40) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)

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Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball controls the ball during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Clippers, Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)

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Los Angeles Clippers center Ivica Zubac (40) looks to shoot while under pressure from Charlotte Hornets forward Moussa Diabate, left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)

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Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball reacts after making a 3-point basket during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Clippers, Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — James Harden had 31 points and 10 rebounds, Kawhi Leonard scored 23 points and the Los Angeles Clippers beat Charlotte 123-88 Sunday night.

Ivica Zubac added 17 points and 14 rebounds for the Clippers (38-30). He made two foul shots with 5:43 left before halftime to give the Clippers 45-34 lead and they led by double digits for the remainder of the game.

Derrick Jones added 12 points for the Clippers.

Mark Williams scored 18 points and grabbed 15 rebounds and LaMelo Ball scored 16 for Charlotte (17-50).

Takeaways

Hornets: Charlotte appeared to have left its offense in Texas after beating San Antonio 145-134 on Friday night. After posting its highest point total of the season against the Spurs, Charlotte failed to reach 90 for the ninth time this year.

Clippers: Los Angeles has quietly won six of its last seven and sit five games behind Houston, Denver and Memphis (all 43-25) for the second seed in the Western Conference.

Key moment

The Clippers took control with a 17-6 run turning a 11-9 deficit into a 26-16 lead off a layup from Harden with 1:43 left in the first quarter.

Key stat

Harden (four 3-pointers) and Leonard (three 3s) combined to make more than Charlotte which shot 6 of 33 (18.2%) from behind the arc.

Next up

Charlotte hosts Atlanta on Tuesday. The Clippers host league-leading Cleveland on Tuesday.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba