Paul George rallies Clippers from 26 down to beat Cavaliers

Field Level Media|published: 04/07/2024, 6:27pm EDT

Apr 7, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Marcus Morris Sr. (24) reaches in front of Los Angeles Clippers center Mason Plumlee (44) to steal a pass in the first half at Crypto.com Arena. credits: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Paul George scored 23 of his 39 points in the fourth quarter, including a tiebreaking jumper with 7.1 seconds left, and the Los Angeles Clippers rallied from a 26-point deficit to beat the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers 120-118 on Sunday.

George blocked Darius Garland's layup with 1.7 seconds left, and the Clippers sealed the comeback victory after Max Strus missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

George finished with 11 rebounds and seven assists for Los Angeles (50-28), which has won three straight and six of its last seven games. James Harden scored 22 points, Norman Powell and Terance Mann added 14 points apiece, and Ivica Zubac had 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Darius Garland led Cleveland (46-33) with 28 points. Strus and Evan Mobley scored 20 points apiece, Caris LeVert added 18, and Jarrett Allen had 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Cleveland scored 80 points in the first half and led by 26 with 6:35 left in the third quarter before Los Angeles clamped down on defense and cut the deficit to 100-95 early in the fourth quarter.

The Clippers moved ahead 118-115 after Amir Coffey's 3-pointer with 47 seconds remaining capped a 10-0 run.

Los Angeles played without forward Kawhi Leonard, who missed his fourth straight game due to right knee inflammation.

Cleveland guard Donovan Mitchell sat out due to left knee injury management on the second night of a back-to-back.

In the first quarter, Los Angeles led 33-31 before Cleveland closed on a 7-0 run to move ahead 40-33. Strus had 12 points in the period.

The Cavaliers carried the momentum into the second quarter and led 66-48 with 4:27 left in the half after LeVert's trey capped a 14-4 run.

LeVert and Strus had 18 points apiece in the first half for the Cavaliers, who took an 80-59 lead into intermission after shooting 60.4 percent from the field and 9 of 18 (50 percent) from 3-point range.

Cleveland was held to 18 points in the third quarter, and Los Angeles rallied to cut the deficit to 98-86 at the end of the period.

—Field Level Media