Clippers and their fans show their 'L.A. Strong' support during victory over Miami

Broderick Turner, Los Angeles Times on Jan 14, 2025

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The Clippers wore T-shirts with the words “L.A. STRONG” on them, and the public address announcer at the Intuit Dome offered words of encouragement for those affected by the devastating fires ravaging Los Angeles.

Before the Clippers stepped on the court to play the Miami Heat Monday night, the announcer said that “the smoke will lift and they will return and rebuild because this is L.A. and today we all stand together — one team, one Los Angeles.”

The Clippers then played their first game since last Wednesday, looking sluggish and falling behind by 13 points in the first half.

But the Clippers awoke in the third quarter, taking control of the game behind a strong defense and the play of James Harden and Norm Powell to pull out a 109-98 win over Miami.

Powell finished with 29 points and six rebounds and Harden had 26 points and 11 assists. The Clippers also got a dominant performance from center Ivica Zubac, who had a 20-20 game with 21 points and 20 rebounds. It was his second career game with at least 20 points and 20 rebounds.

Harden had 13 of his 26 points in the third quarter, including a floater to beat the buzzer that gave the Clippers an 11-point lead they never surrendered. Powell had 11 of his 29 points in the third.

The Clippers (21-17) scored 36 points in the third on 55.5% shooting from the field. But they were even more impressive on defense, holding the Heat to 20 points on 38.1% shooting.

For Kawhi Leonard, it was just his third game back after missing the first 34 games of the season with inflammation in his right knee. Leonard played in two games and then missed Wednesday’s game against Denver to return home to Los Angeles to take care of his family after the wildfires broke out Tuesday night.

Leonard played 20 minutes and 44 seconds, scoring six points on three-for-nine shooting, including missing all three of his three-point attempts. Under a minutes restriction, he didn’t play in the fourth quarter.

Miami All-Star center Bam Adebayo (back contusion) did not play for Miami (20-18).

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