Garland Scores 30 as Clippers Beat Kings 121-96 in Season Opener

The Los Angeles Clippers opened their season with a 121-96 win over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, leading from the first quarter to the last in the first game of the season for both teams.

Garland takes over early

Darius Garland scored 30 points on 11 of 19 shooting in his first full season with Los Angeles. He had 18 points by halftime, when the Clippers led 61-54, and the game broke open in the third quarter. Los Angeles shot 64.7 percent in that period while Sacramento shot 27.3 percent, and the lead grew from seven points to 93-70. Brook Lopez added 17 points and 11 rebounds off the bench. Isaiah Jackson scored 13 points, Gradey Dick scored 12, and rookie Keaton Wagler, the fifth pick in this year's draft, scored 15 points with five assists in 29 minutes off the bench. The Clippers shot 52.4 percent for the game, made 40 percent of their three-point shots, won the rebounding count 49-42 and recorded 14 steals. Their bench outscored Sacramento's reserves 53-34, and the team never trailed.

First opener without Leonard since 2019

This was the Clippers' first season opener without Kawhi Leonard since 2019. The NBA found the club guilty of breaking salary cap rules in its dealings with Leonard, and the team traded him to Toronto last month. The league fined the team $30 million and took away five straight draft picks, from 2029 through 2033, and owner Steve Ballmer is serving a one-year suspension from league and team activities. Leonard scored 23 points for Toronto in its opening win over Chicago on the same night. Los Angeles played this game short-handed anyway. Bradley Beal sat out for right knee injury management, Brandon Ingram is recovering from right heel surgery, and Max Strus has a partial tear of the plantar fascia in his right foot. Rui Hachimura scored 10 points and took eight rebounds in his team debut after arriving from the Lakers.

Sabonis sets an opener record in defeat

Zach LaVine led Sacramento with 28 points. Domantas Sabonis, playing his first game since February 4, scored 14 points and took 18 rebounds. The Kings said those 18 rebounds set a Sacramento-era record for a season opener, passing the 15 that Chris Webber recorded in 1999 and LaSalle Thompson recorded in 1986. Precious Achiuwa added 15 points. Rookie Darius Acuff Jr., the seventh pick in the draft, started at point guard in his first NBA game and scored 12 points with three assists, but he made only 5 of 24 shots and missed all seven of his three-point tries. Keegan Murray did not score until the fourth quarter and finished with two points. The win was the Clippers' eighth in nine games against the Kings going back to the start of the 2024-25 season.

What comes next

Los Angeles is 1-0 and Sacramento is 0-1. Both teams play again on Friday, October 23, when the Kings host the Portland Trail Blazers and the Clippers visit the Los Angeles Lakers.