Clippers Roll Past Bucks for Fifth Straight Win Behind An All-Around Effort

MILWAUKEE – The Los Angeles Clippers kept their hot streak alive on Sunday afternoon, beating the Milwaukee Bucks 127-113 at Fiserv Forum to extend their winning streak to five games and improve to 39-36 on the season. 

Even more interesting is the fact that this is the first time all season that the Clippers are three games or more over .500. 

It was a complete team effort from start to finish, with both starters and bench players contributing in a wire-to-wire victory over a depleted Milwaukee squad that fell to 29-45.

Darius Garland was in full control of the offense all afternoon, finishing with 15 points and 11 assists while shooting 3-for-7 from deep in just 27 minutes of action. 

Since being acquired from the Cleveland Cavaliers at the trade deadline, Garland has looked more and more comfortable running the show alongside Kawhi Leonard, and Sunday was another example of just how well the two have clicked together. 

He picked apart Milwaukee’s defense with crisp passing and timely shooting, and even though he had five turnovers, the overall impact was undeniable.

Leonard, meanwhile, did his thing in an efficient 23 minutes of work, pouring in 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting with four made threes and eight rebounds. 

He didn’t need to play in the fourth quarter because the game was already well in hand by then, which is exactly the rest this team needs as they push toward the postseason.

John Collins might have turned in his best game in a while, going 9-for-13 from the field for 22 points to go along with three rebounds, three assists and a block in 35 minutes. 

He was aggressive getting to the basket and finishing through contact all game long, and the Bucks had no answer for him in the paint. Collins had 10 of his points in the paint alone, and his presence down low opened things up for shooters on the perimeter. 

After the game, Collins talked about what’s been fueling this group lately, calling the Clippers “a brotherhood of guys that wanna be together, wanna win, that are happy to cheer for each other." 

And it showed on Sunday.

The bench was just as impressive, if not more so. 

Bennedict Mathurin led all scorers with 28 points off the bench, shooting 7-for-10 from the field and getting to the free throw line 14 times where he converted 13. 

He was relentless attacking the rim and drawing fouls, giving the Clippers a huge scoring punch whenever the starters sat down. 

Kris Dunn added 10 points and five assists while going 4-for-5 from the field, and Derrick Jones Jr. chipped in 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting with two steals and a block.

Milwaukee, playing without Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kyle Kuzma and Bobby Portis among others, got a monster effort from Gary Trent Jr. who scored 36 points and went 9-for-15 from three-point range. 

But outside of Trent and Taurean Prince, who had 18 points and eight assists, there wasn’t much else for the Bucks. 

Milwaukee has now lost four straight, all by double digits, and was officially eliminated from playoff contention over the weekend.

The Clippers led by as many as 24 points and outscored Milwaukee 39-28 in the third quarter to put the game away. 

Kawhi Leonard and this roster are playing with a level of confidence right now that makes them a tough matchup for anyone, and with six games left, Los Angeles is looking to lock down the No. 8 seed and potentially move up in the standings.