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Kings fall to Clippers in NBA Cup game 104-88
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Kings fall to Clippers in NBA Cup game 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.

The Clippers played perhaps their cleanest half of the season and never looked back after going on a 20-1 run in the first quarter to take control. At halftime they led 51-29 after turning 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 its first four at the new Intuit Dome.

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

Takeaways

Kings: Just days removed from scoring 60 and 49 points in back-to-back games, Fox couldn’t get going early, poorly sending a late 3-pointer as an exclamation point on a first half to forget.

Clippers: If they don’t give their opponents turnovers that lead to easy buckets, Los Angeles will be 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 stat

Sacramento couldn’t buy a 3 and made 7 of 35 attempts (20%). The two worst performances behind the arc this season came against the Clippers, after they went 3 for 26 (11.5%) on November 8.

Next

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