INGLEWOOD — Clippers coach Tyronn Lue walked into the interview room after Thursday night’s game looking angry and frustrated with his team’s performance. Asked why, Lue said, “Because I wanted to blow them out.”

It was a nice idea, one that looked doable as the Clippers ran out to a 26-point lead in the third quarter. Then a series of bad turnovers, missed shots and 3-pointers by Lakers star Luka Doncic spoiled those plans, leaving the Clippers hanging for a 112-104 victory against the Lakers in what had been billed as one of the NBA’s “Rivals Week” games.

And it lived up to the hype with high-scoring performances from the teams’ biggest stars, raucous fans and even a late-game skirmish at the Intuit Dome.

Bigger still was how the Clippers overcame 20 turnovers – six during a messy fourth quarter – to win for the 14th time in the past 17 games, beating their crosstown foe for the second straight time as they continue their climb from the depths of the Western Conference standings.

“We got to do a better job of taking care of the basketball,” Lue said. “We knew they’re going to junk the game up. They got down 26 and started blitzing and firing and we prepared for it. We just didn’t handle it well.

“But our guys just stayed the course and found a way to win the game.”

Blowing double-digit leads has been a habit with the Clippers (20-24) lately, and in Lue’s case over the past six seasons.

“Every single game has been this way since I’ve been here for six years,” Lue said. “Either we’re up big and another team comes back and makes a game of it. So, I’m just proud of our guys for just staying the course, staying with it with Kawhi (Leonard) being in and out, just being able to handle that flow.

“It was a good win for us no matter how it happened. But 20 turnovers against this team is tough to overcome.”

Lakers coach JJ Redick thought his team stepped up defensively in the second half to force some of those turnovers.

“Thought some of the stuff we tried early was better in the second half, but this is what we always talk about,” Redick said. “It starts with execution. You have to be able to execute.”

Leonard returned to the lineup Thursday in a timely fashion after sitting out the past three games and scored 24 points on 9-of-19 shooting from the field and a 3-of-7 showing from 3-point range in 26 minutes, extending his streak to a career-high 23 consecutive games with at least 20 points.

Leonard’s play made Lue smile.

“I thought he looked good. I thought he looked really good, especially to start the game in that first quarter,” Lue said. “He had good pop and then he could have gotten a little tired. He hasn’t played in a while, but that first quarter was really good.”

Leonard said he felt “good, doing well. I was able to get out there and play.”

Although the game had Leonard’s fingerprints all over it, James Harden had 18 points and 10 assists and Ivica Zubac added 18 points and 19 rebounds (10 offensive) for the Clippers, who had seven players score in double figures.

Doncic led the Lakers (26-17) with 32 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, but he couldn’t do it alone, though he tried.

He scored 11 points in the third quarter and the Lakers managed to cut the Clippers’ 26-point lead to 86-72 by the end of the period.

The Lakers took advantage of the Clippers’ turnover issues to cut the lead to 93-83 at the 9:20 mark of the fourth. They closed the gap to 93-87 on back-to-back jump shots by Marcus Smart, who added a free throw, and LeBron James.

A shot-clock violation by the Clippers gave the Lakers an opportunity to further trim the lead but they couldn’t find a quick opening, leaving the Clippers holding a 93-88 advantage. A minute later, Doncic hit a 3-pointer to cap a 19-7 run that cut the margin to 93-91 with just under six minutes left.

The Clippers responded with a 10-0 run to open a 103-91 lead as Doncic went silent, finishing the night with just three points in the final quarter.

During the run, Zubac and Vanderbilt got into a brief skirmish near the Clippers’ bench after pursuing a loose ball, each earning fouls with 4:04 remaining. Zubac then was fouled by James and he went to the line for two free throws that extended the lead 100-91.

The Lakers didn’t back down and went on an 11-2 surge to pull within 105-102 with 1:28 left, but that’s as close as they could get. Zubac’s reverse dunk and John Collins’ 3-pointer extended the Clippers’ lead to eight points and they closed it out on a pair of Harden free throws.

James finished with 23 points, five rebounds and six assists, Rui Hachimura added 12 points and Smart had 10 as the Lakers dropped to 5-6 in their last 11 games.

Leonard was abruptly sent home from Washington before the Clippers faced the Wizards earlier this week, missing all three road games because of irritation in his left knee. He sat out the Clippers’ overtime victory against the Toronto Raptors last Friday, the first game of the trip.

His absence was felt in an uncomfortably close victory against the Wizards and a lopsided loss to the Chicago Bulls.

His return was immediately noticed, as he picked up where he left off. Leonard scored eight consecutive points during a stretch in the first quarter and had 14 on 6-of-9 shooting with two 3-pointers by halftime.

“The game was good. It was basketball, same thing,” Leonard said. “Go out there and play. And when you’re out there, try to make plays, be aggressive.”

Leonard had been averaging 29.5 points and shooting 49.4% from the field and 42.5% from 3-point range in the month of January before being sidelined for eight days. Lue said Leonard has been more aggressive on offense this season.

“I think getting to his spots, and also shooting more 3s, which has allowed us to get to that 38 and 43 (points) per game, which we’ve been trying to do,” Lue said. “But just being more aggressive offensively, attacking the basket, getting to the free-throw line because usually he sells for the mid-range pull up, which he’s great at.

“Whatever it takes to win, that’s the mindset for me.”

@JHarden13 pic.twitter.com/m3GAvCEWTe

— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) January 23, 2026

“The whole time I’m like when y’all gonna put me back in the game?”

Kawhi chuckles about his minutes restriction down the stretch in win over Lakers pic.twitter.com/Wr99KhjKiF

— NBA on Prime (@NBAonPrime) January 23, 2026

“That’s a consistent thing when we don’t play well. We don’t pass to each other and we don’t execute defensively.”

JJ speaks to the media following the Lakers 112-104 defeat to the Clippers. pic.twitter.com/Bl5u9L8B2o

— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) January 23, 2026

Luka Dončić (32 PTS, 11 REB, 8 AST, 3 STL) discusses the defensive lapses in the first half, his responsibilities as a primary ball-handler, and the success of the two big lineups with Drew Timme. pic.twitter.com/DZy2qNtCNz

— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) January 23, 2026