Kings fall to Clippers in NBA Cup play 104-88

LOS ANGELES — James Harden had 22 points and nine assists to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 104-88 victory over the Sacramento Kings in an NBA Cup game on Friday night.

Playing arguably their cleanest half of the season, the Clippers never looked back after ripping off a 20-1 run in the first quarter to take control. They led 51-29 at the break, having turned the ball over just three times.

Derrick Jones Jr. added 17 for Los Angeles, which is 1-1 in the NBA Cup and has won seven straight home games after dropping his first four at the new Intuit Dome.

De’Aaron Fox had 25 of his 29 points in the second half for the Kings, who put up a fight but couldn’t overcome their early struggles. Domantas Sabonis had 24 points and 15 rebounds after missing the previous two games because of a back injury, and DeMar DeRozan chipped in with 16 points in his first game since Nov. 15 because of a back injury.

Takeaways

Kings: Just days removed from putting up 60 and 49 points in consecutive games, Fox couldn’t get going early, badly airmailing a late 3-pointer as an exclamation point on a first half to forget.

Clippers: When they don’t gift opponents turnovers that lead to easy buckets, Los Angeles is tough to beat.

key moment

The Clippers didn’t give the ball away until Mo Bamba was whistled for an offensive foul with 9:22 left in the second quarter.

Key status

Sacramento couldn’t buy a 3, making 7 of 35 tries (20%). Its two worst performances behind the arc this season have come against the Clippers, having gone 3 for 26 (11.5%) on Nov. 8.

Up next

The Kings host Brooklyn on Sunday, and the Clippers begin a four-game road trip to Philadelphia on Sunday.