Kawhi Leonard's Buzzer-Beater Caps Clippers' Wild 24-Point Comeback Over Pacers
Mar 27, 2026; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; LA Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) celebrates the game winning shot in the second half against the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images INDIANAPOLIS - There was no reason to believe the Los Angeles Clippers were going to win this game, and honestly, nobody would have blamed you for turning it off early. Indiana came out firing on all cylinders in the first quarter, going 8-for-11 from three and jumping out to a 42-21 lead that eventually ballooned to 24 points.
The Pacers looked like the team fighting for playoff positioning, not the one sitting at 16-58 with the worst record in the league. And then something shifted. Garland Kept Them Alive While the first quarter was a disaster, Darius Garland refused to let this one get away.
The former Cavalier, who has been averaging 18. 9 points and 6. 9 assists on the season, went to work picking apart Indiana's defense in the second and third quarters, hitting pull-up threes and getting to the rim whenever Los Angeles needed a bucket.
He finished with a team-high 30 points on 10-of-19 shooting and knocked down six threes on the night to go with five assists, and every single one of those makes felt like it came at a moment where the Clippers were about to lose their grip on the comeback entirely. Bennedict Mathurin chipped in off the bench too, scoring 17 in his return to Indianapolis after being traded from the Pacers last month, and he helped spark an 8-0 run to close the first half that cut the deficit to 10 heading into the break. Leonard Does What Leonard Does By the fourth quarter the Clippers had clawed all the way back, and it became a real game.
But even after all that work, it looked like it might not be enough. Obi Toppin buried a jumper to put Indiana up 113-108 with about a minute left, and the 16,645 fans inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse could feel a win coming. They were wrong.