Kawhi Leonard scored 21 points despite foul trouble and the San Antonio Spurs shook off the rust from a nine-day layoff to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 105-97 on Friday night (Saturday AEDT) for their third straight NBA win.
Pau Gasol added 17 points and 11 rebounds off the bench in his return from a 15-game absence because of a fractured finger. LaMarcus Aldridge had 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Dewayne Dedmon grabbed 12 rebounds.
Blake Griffin scored 29 points for the Clippers, who have dropped consecutive games to the league's two best-performing teams since the All-Star break ended. They lost by 10 points at Golden State a night earlier. The Spurs have the league's second-best record at 44-13.
Chris Paul added 17 points in his return after missing five weeks with a torn ligament in his left thumb.
Patty Mills scored 14 points in 20 minutes of court time after starting on the bench.
In Oklahoma City, Russell Westbrook connected with his new teammates immediately.
Westbrook scored 17 points in his 28th triple-double of the season, and the Thunder defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 110-93.
It was the first game in a Thunder uniform for Taj Gibson and Doug McDermott, acquired on Thursday in a trade with the Chicago Bulls. Gibson scored 12 points and McDermott added eight, even though they arrived on Thursday night and weren't even available for shootaround on Friday.
Westbrook said the newcomers handled the hectic situation well.
"Great, man. Like pros," Westbrook said. "They came in and competed. Obviously, they don't know many plays and many sets, but it was alright. They did a great job with spacing and knowing how to play the game."
Westbrook also had 18 rebounds and 17 assists for the 65th triple-double of his career.
In Milwaukee, Gordon Hayward scored 29 points, Derrick Favors added 19 and the Utah Jazz beat the Milwaukee Bucks 109-95, dominating the paint in their first game back from the All-Star break.
It was a quiet night for three of the four Australians playing in the game, with Bucks Thon Maker and Matthew Dellavedova each managing three points, and Joe Ingles only managing six points for Utah. He did, though, add seven rebounds in his 25 minutes of court time, while fellow Australian Dante Exum scored 12 points.
On a day in which Philadelphia's Australian centre Ben Simmons was ruled out for the rest of the NBA season, the depleted 76ers beat the Washington Wizards 120-112.
Robert Covington had 25 points and 11 rebounds, Dario Saric added 20 points and 11 boards for the Sixers.
Simmons was last season's overall number one draft pick but has a broken right foot.
In Chicago, Dwyane Wade scored 23 points, Jimmy Butler added 22 and the Bulls rallied to beat the Phoenix Suns 128-121 in overtime.
Elsewhere, Philadelphia beat Memphis 102-92, Toronto beat Boston 107-97, Minnesota beat Dallas 97-84, Miami beat Atlanta 108-90 and Denver beat Brooklyn 129-109.
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