Leonard, Clippers extend win streak to 9 by holding off Mavs rally in 120-111 victory

DALLAS — Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers are in a far better place than they were for their previous trip to Dallas last month, just after James Harden had joined their lineup.

On the best run in the NBA at the moment.

Leonard scored 30 points, and the Clippers held on after leading by 22, extending their win streak to nine games with a 120-111 victory over the Mavericks on Wednesday night.

Norman Powell scored 21 points off the bench with Paul George sidelined by an illness, and Harden had 17 points and 11 assists. The Clippers have the NBA’s longest active win streak, tied for the league high this season, and the franchise’s longest streak since a 10-game run in 2015-16.

Dallas star Luka Doncic’s franchise record of 11 consecutive games with at least 30 points ended with 28 in a sixth straight game without All-Star guard Kyrie Irving, who has a bruised right heel.

Doncic recorded his sixth triple-double by getting 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

When they lost 144-126 at Dallas on Nov. 10, the Clippers hadn’t won since acquiring Harden in a trade with Philadelphia. They were on their way to a six-game losing streak. They’re 14-3 since that skid.

“It’s going to take time for them to find the rhythm, find the continuity, find the chemistry,” Powell, who tied his season high in scoring, said of matching Harden with Leonard, George and Russell Westbrook.

“It’s no summer league, summertime pickup basketball where you’re doing whatever you want,” Powell said. “There’s a system in place, and everybody’s got to figure out their role and how it goes.”

With the Clippers leading by one late in the fourth quarter, Leonard, who also had 10 rebounds, hit a layup and assisted on a three-point play by Powell.

The…