INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Kawhi Leonard scored 28 points in 25 minutes and the Los Angeles Clippers pummeled the Milwaukee Bucks 129-96 on Monday night.

Brook Lopez added 19 points, Darius Garland had 15 points and six assists, and the Clippers won consecutive games following four straight losses. They made all 18 of their free throws and got back to .500 with 10 games remaining in the regular season after having a 6-21 record on Dec. 18.

Gary Trent Jr. paced the Bucks with 20 points off the bench. Ryan Rollins led their starters with 13, and Milwaukee had five players in double figures. The Bucks have lost 10 of their past 14 games, including three of four since sitting superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo because of a left knee injury.

The Clippers dominated the 3-point line at both ends of the court, making 17 of 38 shots from long range (45%) while frustrating the Bucks before they used a meaningless fourth-quarter flurry to finish at 39% (16 for 41). That included Los Angeles sinking 11 of 22 attempts in the first half, including a 7-for-12 stretch to help fuel a 43-point second quarter.

The onslaught continued into the second half as the Clippers went up by 46. Even the 7-foot-1 Lopez got in on the fun, shooting 4 of 5 on 3s in the third quarter.

Leonard, who sat out the entire fourth period, shook off a sluggish start to go 8 for 18 from the field and make nine foul shots. He had 16 points in the second quarter.

In his 14th NBA season, Leonard is averaging a career-high 28.3 points per game, helping push the Clippers back to an all-but-certain spot in the play-in tournament following their miserable start.

Up next

Bucks: Visit the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday.

Clippers: Host the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday.

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

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Zach Benson had a goal and an assist and the Buffalo Sabres continued their white-hot play with a 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.

Tage Thompson, Sam Carrick and Rasmus Dahlin also scored for the Sabres.

Carrick and Dahlin scored 59 seconds apart midway through the third period, and Benson added an empty-netter to give the Sabres their fourth straight win and 12th in the past 13 outings. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 26 saves.

Buoyed by significant and vocal support despite being the visitors, the Sabres continued their push for an Atlantic Division title as they are on their way to ending a 14-year playoff drought, the longest in the NHL.

Artemi Panarin scored, picking up a point for the fifth straight game. Anze Kopitar tied Marcel Dionne for the Kings franchise record for points on home ice, and Anton Forsberg made 28 saves.

Los Angeles came into the day as the second wild card in the Western Conference but dropped behind the Nashville Predators, who won 4-1 over the Vegas Golden Knights.

The Kings started off strong. Panarin continued the productive start to his Kings tenure by opening the scoring with a power-play goal midway through the first period. He has five goals and 11 assists in 13 games for Los Angeles. It was the first goal the Sabres had allowed on the road in 176 minutes of game action, including consecutive shutouts at Vegas and San Jose.

But Buffalo came back to control the final two periods, with a failed coach's challenge by Los Angeles for a high stick in the build up before Carrick's slick backhand leading to Dahlin's power-play goal.

Up Next

Sabres: Visit Anaheim on Sunday.

Kings: Visit Utah on Sunday.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl