Sports
Clippers don't need Kawhi Leonard, or Tyronn Lue, to rally and beat Warriors
The momentum the Clippers built from an impressive trip had started to fizzle as they headed toward the break.
And they were trying to find their groove again while playing their last game before Sunday’s All-Star Game without star Kawhi Leonard, who sat out Wednesday night against the Golden State Warriors because of a strained left adductor.
Leonard has missed just five games, his 24.1 points per game and 6.1 rebounds sorely missed against another worthy Western Conference foe in the Warriors.
But he had to be happy to see the Clippers overcome coach Tyronn Lue getting ejected in the fourth quarter and Paul George fouling out and rally for a 130-125 win over the Warriors at Chase Center.
“Yeah, great vibe,” said George, who had 24 points. “You want to be on vacation and feeling good about it. It’s definitely momentum going into the second half of the season. So, it’s great. We know we got our work cut out for the second half. But I thought we ended the first half on a good note.”
The Clippers can credit Norman Powell for helping the cause with his sizzling three-point shooting. He made all four of his three-point attempts in the fourth in scoring 12 of his 21 points, which helped the Clippers come from 14 down in the final 12 minutes.
His second three of the fourth gave the Clippers a 116-115 lead they never lost.
“To me, the fourth quarter is all about winning,” said Powell, who was 8-for-13 from the field, 5-for-7 from three-point range. “I think if you put your mindset to that and take all the distractions and whatever is going on in the game out of your mind, you just focus on making winning plays and the moment in front of you, things like that happen because you’re just playing off instincts and the things you work on. Today was a similar situation.”
The win made the Clippers 2-2 in their last four games. This was after they had a 6-1 record on the road trip at the end of January and the early part of February, which allowed them at one point to post the top record in the West.
The Clippers (36-17) are third in the uber-competitive Western Conference, 1½-game games behind first-place Minnesota.
Before the Clippers play their next game at second-place Oklahoma City on Feb. 22, Leonard is scheduled to play for the West in the All-Star Game. Lue was “not sure if he’ll play” because of his injury.
“I don’t think it’s serious,” Lue said. “He played through it last game and was experiencing some soreness in the hip and so when the game got out of reach we didn’t bring him back in the fourth quarter, just being smart about it. But he did play through it last game.”
The Clippers also were without guard Bones Hyland and forward P.J. Tucker because they needed an “extra day for some head space,” said a person with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly.
Lue, who did not talk to the media after the game, was not happy with the officiating, picking up two technical fouls in the fourth quarter, the last with 9:36 left that meant he was ejected from the game with his team down nine points.
He had watched Mason Plumlee get called for a flagrant foul on Brandin Podziemski in the fourth.
Before Lue left the court, he walked back to the officials and had some words. It was just his second ejection as a coach, his first a Clipper.
“Again, there was a lot of emotion and some frustrations,” said Clippers assistant coach Dan Craig, who took over for Lue. “But we had T’s back. I don’t think he’s ever been thrown out of a game with the Clippers. Again, it was a collective effort, I think just team-wise and I thought the guys really rallied around each other and really just wanted to get this win.”
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The PGA Tour has announced that it will not be hosting an event in Hawaii during the 2027 season, ending a 56-year run of holding a tournament in The Aloha State. The change comes as the Tour and CEO Brian Rolapp have consistently teased a revamped schedule beginning next year.
The Tour was forced to cancel The Sentry at the start of the 2026 campaign due to the dying grass on the Plantation Course at Kapalua amid a local dispute with the company responsible for delivering water to the area.
An aerial view of the golf course from over the ocean prior to The Sentry at The Plantation Course at Kapalua on December 31, 2023 in Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii. (Photo by Ben Jared/PGA TOUR) (Ben Jared/PGA TOUR)
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With The Sentry being canceled, the Sony Open at Waialae Country on Oahu served as the Tour’s season opener in ‘26, which was won by Chris Gotterup. The event was in the final year of its sponsorship, although the Tour has shared that it is working toward making the event the opening event on the PGA Tour Champions circuit.
Chris Gotterup of the United States celebrates with the trophy on the 18th green after his winning round of the Sony Open in Hawaii 2026 at Waialae Country Club on January 18, 2026 in Honolulu, Hawaii. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images) (Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)
The Tour’s removal of The Sentry and the Sony Open wipes out what has now turned into a traditional two-week stretch on the island to begin a new season.
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The PGA Tour did not share further details about the 2027 schedule upon its announcement about leaving Hawaii, but with Sentry reportedly being an event title-sponsor through 2035, it will need to find a new landing spot on the calendar. The logical stop would be Torrey Pines in San Diego, which checks the West Coast and great weather boxes, but the venue is also looking for a new sponsor, as its deal with Farmers Insurance ended in 2026.
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View of the 18th hole is seen during the final round of The Sentry at The Plantation Course at Kapalua on January 5, 2025 in Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii. (Photo by Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images) (Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)
The Tour’s decision not to begin next season in Hawaii makes sense, as there are plenty of venues in the lower 48 states that are much easier to operate from, but the departure will have a tremendous financial impact on the state.
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports that The Sentry is estimated to have a $50 million annual impact on the community, while the Sony Open directly generates an estimated $100 million in revenue per year, plus another $1 million per year to Friends of Hawaii charities.
Martin Dugard is a prolific author and writer. He’s also an assistant cross-country coach at Santa Margarita after being head coach at JSerra for 15 years.
His newest book is “The Long Run,” which discusses the 1970s running boom and is a narrative history of four who sparked the marathon boom: Steve Prefontaine, Frank Shorter, Joan Benoit Samuelson and Grete Waitz.
He’s going to have a book signing on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Barnes & Noble, 26751 Aliso Creek Rd., Aliso Viejo.
Don’t be surprised if he tries to run from Rancho Santa Margarita to his book signing.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
For years, Stephen A. Smith’s many football blunders have been easy enough to explain away.
He’s not an NFL guy (remember when he said the three key players for a game were three guys who weren’t playing in the game?)
Stephen A. Smith falsely claimed the Warriors haven’t made the playoffs since 2022, but Golden State reached the second round in both 2023 and 2025. (Jerome Miron/Imagn Images)
He’s definitely not a college football guy (remember when he called Jalen Milroe Jalen “Milroy” multiple times and then read the wrong stat line after a College Football Playoff game?).
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ESPN forces him into those conversations because First Take has to talk football, and Smith knows that football is the most popular sport in the country and he needs to be seen as an authority (even though he isn’t).
But Monday’s latest mistake is a lot tougher to excuse, because this time Smith wasn’t talking about the NFL or college football. He was talking about the Golden State Warriors, one of the defining NBA dynasties of the last decade.
In other words, he was talking about the sport and the league that’s supposed to be his bread and butter.
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While discussing whether Steve Kerr has coached his last game with Golden State, Smith confidently stated the Warriors “haven’t been back to the playoffs since that championship in 2022.”
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr looks on during a game against the Sacramento Kings. (Robert Edwards/Imagn Images)
That’s not even close to true. Not only did Golden State make the playoffs last season, but they also reached the postseason in 2023. Last year, the Warriors made the playoffs, beat the Rockets in seven games and advanced to the second round before losing to the Timberwolves. In 2023, they beat the Sacramento Kings in the first round and before losing to the Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals.
So, Smith wouldn’t even have been right if he said they haven’t won a playoff series since 2022. But he didn’t say that. He said they didn’t make the playoffs in any of the past four years, except they did it twice.
Yikes.
This is not an obscure piece of NBA trivia that Smith could be easily forgiven for not knowing. Perhaps he was too busy playing solitaire on his phone and just missed two of the past three NBA postseasons. That’s a tough look for the guy who fancies himself as the No. 1 NBA analyst in the country.
And it’s a terrible look for ESPN, as they keep selling Smith as one of the faces of their NBA coverage.
Stephen A. Smith made a brutal gaffe while talking Warriors playoff history
If Smith made this kind of mistake while talking about the NFL, nobody would be shocked. At this point, sports fans practically expect him to butcher football analysis. It’s almost endearing that a guy with the ego of Smith can be so consistently wrong while also delivering every “fact” with the utmost confidence. It’s part of the Stephen A. experience.
But this one hits differently because the NBA is where he’s supposed to at least know the basics. This is where Smith prides himself as being an authority figure.
Stephen A. Smith incorrectly stated the Golden State Warriors haven’t made the playoffs since their 2022 championship, despite the team reaching the postseason twice since then. (Candice Ward/Imagn Images)
And yet he couldn’t keep the recent playoff history of the Warriors straight. The team whose head coach is in the news every other week. The team that has won four championships since 2014. Arguably one of the most important franchises in the NBA over the past 15 years.
Yes, Golden State missed the playoffs in 2024 after getting bounced in the Play-In Tournament (although they won 46 games that season). And yes, it fell short again this season. But that’s a lot different from acting like Steve Kerr has spent four years wandering the basketball wilderness since winning that 2022 title.
He hasn’t. In fact, the team is 175-153 in the past four regular seasons.
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The Warriors made the second round in 2023. They made the second round again in 2025.
Before burying Steve Kerr on national television, maybe Stephen A. Smith could take 10 seconds to confirm whether the Warriors were actually, you know, in the playoffs.
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