BY BETH HARRIS
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Paul George scored 18 of his season-high 38 points in the fourth quarter and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 128-117 on Tuesday night for their ninth win in 11 games.
Kawhi Leonard and James Harden added 16 points apiece to complete a big day for the franchise. Earlier, Commissioner Adam Silver announced the 2026 All-Star Game will be held at the Clippers’ under-construction arena in Inglewood, where they begin play next season.
Jalen Williams scored 25 points and Lu Dort and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander each added 19 points for the Thunder, the West’s No. 2 team that has dropped two in a row after winning nine of 12 coming into Los Angeles.
After trailing by 13 points in the third, the Thunder stormed back to lead 115-114 on a 3-pointer by Williams.
That’s when George took over.
He scored 11 of the Clippers’ final 14 points for an empathetic end to what started out as a back-and-forth game early in the fourth. He hit two 3-pointers and ended the surge with a steal and one-handed dunk.
The Thunder closed to 79-77 in the third on a 9-0 run that began and ended with 3-pointers by Isaiah Joe.
The Clippers answered with a 20-12 run capped by consecutive 3-pointers by Daniel Theis and Norman Powell to lead 99-89 going into fourth.
Clippers center Ivica Zubac missed his second straight game with a right calf strain and will be re-evaluated in a month. Mason Plumlee had 14 points in his first start of the season in Zubac’s place.
