NEW YORK (AP) — James Harden scored 31 points, Kawhi Leonard had 26 and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Brooklyn Nets 121-105 on Friday night.
Reserve guard Jordan Miller made his first six shots and added 21 points. John Collins had 16 for the Clippers, who bounced back from their loss to the New York Knicks on Wednesday to win for the eighth time in 10 games. Leonard, questionable earlier in the day with a sprained right ankle, started slowly but had 19 points in the second half.
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Brooklyn Nets' Terance Mann (14) drives past LA Clippers' James Harden (1) and Kawhi Leonard (2) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Brooklyn Nets' Michael Porter Jr. (17) drives past LA Clippers' James Harden (1) and Ivica Zubac (40) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
LA Clippers' John Collins (20) and Kris Dunn (8) fights for control of the ball with Brooklyn Nets' Nic Claxton (33) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Brooklyn Nets' Terance Mann, right, drives past LA Clippers' Kawhi Leonard during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
LA Clippers' James Harden (1) talks to Kawhi Leonard (2) during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Brooklyn Nets Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Rookie guard Egor Demin scored 19 points for the Nets, who lost on a buzzer-beater in overtime against Orlando on Wednesday. But it was quickly clear this one would never be close.
Michael Porter Jr. struggled to 18 points, missing all nine 3-point attempts.
The Clippers scored the first eight points, and after Nic Claxton made two free throws, Harden scored the next six in an 8-0 run that made it 16-2. Demin made a 3-pointer to snap Brooklyn's 0-for-8 start, but then Leonard and Harden scored to make the Clippers 8 for 9 and give them a 21-5 lead.
The Clippers opened the second quarter with a 10-0 run to make it 45-25 on former Nets center Brook Lopez's three-point play. Los Angeles led by 22 before taking a 63-47 halftime lead.
The Nets, playing four of their five first-round draft picks, often had at least one rookie on the floor and it appeared Harden was looking to punish any of them who had to guard him. The three-time NBA scoring champion shot 10 for 13, and when the Nets started sending a second defender at him, he found the open man and finished with six assists.
Brooklyn outscored Los Angeles 11-4 to start the third quarter and get back within single digits, but Leonard made a 3-pointer and the lead remained in double digits the rest of the way.
Clippers: Visit the Detroit Pistons on Saturday.
Nets: Visit the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Brooklyn Nets' Terance Mann (14) drives past LA Clippers' James Harden (1) and Kawhi Leonard (2) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Brooklyn Nets' Michael Porter Jr. (17) drives past LA Clippers' James Harden (1) and Ivica Zubac (40) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
LA Clippers' John Collins (20) and Kris Dunn (8) fights for control of the ball with Brooklyn Nets' Nic Claxton (33) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Brooklyn Nets' Terance Mann, right, drives past LA Clippers' Kawhi Leonard during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
LA Clippers' James Harden (1) talks to Kawhi Leonard (2) during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Brooklyn Nets Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
ST. LOUIS (AP) — World champions and Olympic favorites Ilia Malinin and the ice dance team of Madison Chock and Evan Bates turned the final night of the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Saturday into less of a competition and more of a coronation.
Malinin easily won his fourth straight title despite a dialed-back free skate that included just three quads — still more than anyone in the field, but far fewer than the seven it could include. And the duo of Chock and Bates won their record seventh championship with a flamenco-style free dance set to a version of “Paint It Black” from the dystopian sci-fi Western show “Westworld.”
They will be the anchors for a powerful American team headed to the Milan Cortina Games in less than a month.
“I decided not to go for any risks. I wanted to play it safe, because hopefully in a few weeks I have to go again,” Malinin said.
Malinin finished with 324.88 points to continue an unbeaten streak stretching more than two years. Andrew Torgashev was a distant second with 267.62 points, while Maxim Naumov finished third by less than a tenth of a point over Jacob Sanchez.
In doing so, Naumov may have fulfilled a dream he held along with his late parents.
Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova were among those killed when an American Airlines flight collided with a helicopter and crashed into the icy Potomac River in January 2025. One of the last conversations the couple had with their son was about what it would take for the 24-year-old Naumov to earn one of three men's spots on the upcoming Olympic team.
“I gritted my teeth on everything. I fought on everything. If I had to crawl, I would crawl to the end,” Naumov said, “but I made it.”
Chock and Bates, the three-time reigning world champions, wound up with 228.87 points following the free dance. Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik were second with 213.65 while Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko were third with 206.95.
Those three are expected to fill out the American dance team for the Olympics when official selections are announced Sunday.
“The feeling that we got from the audience today was unlike anything I've ever felt before,” said Chock, who along with Bates helped the Americans win team gold at the Beijing Olympics four years ago, but finished a disappointing fourth in the ice dance.
“Our performance was definitely the best we've skated the free dance all year,” Bates said, “and it shows the plan is working, and we like to build momentum through the season. It's a great feeling going into a big event knowing you skated well the previous event.”
Chock and Bates will be heavy favorites to win gold next month in Italy.
Just like their 21-year-old teammate from Fairfax, Virginia.
Malinin was somewhat controversially left off the American team for Beijing, when U.S. Figure Skating officials chose the more experienced Jason Brown over him. Rather than sulk, the self-styled “Quad God” with the unique, avant-garde style turned the four years since then into an unstoppable march through just about every competition he has entered.
This season, he won the the lower-level Lombardia Trophy, the Grand Prix de France, Skate America and his third consecutive Grand Prix Final, the most prestigious event outside of the Olympics and the world championships.
Skating to a musical medley featuring his own voice-over, Malinin opened with a quad flip, then landed a triple axel, before hitting a triple lutz rather than a quad lutz. Malinin added a quad lutz and a quad salchow-triple axel combination later in the program, almost as if to remind folks that even when he's playing it safe, he can still land the big jumps whenever he wants.
Skating to “In This Shirt” by The Irrepressibles, Naumov landed an opening quad salchow but tripled his other planned quad. He was otherwise solid on his jumps, other than spinning out on his last combination jump, and earned his own standing ovation.
It was an emotional week for Naumov, who brought to the kiss-and-cry area an old photo of him with his parents.
The 24-year-old Torgashev, who is half Ukrainian and still has family in the war-torn country, landed both of his quads during a clean free skate, one of them in combination with a double axel. He also one-handed cartwheeled across the ice, and he punched the air at the finish, once he was done spinning like a top in the middle of the ice.
It was an emphatic statement by Torgashev for his inclusion on the Olympic team.
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Maxim Naumov holds a photo of his parents after competing during the men's free skate competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Ilia Malinin competes during the men's free skate competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko skate during the free dance competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik skate during the free dance competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik react to their scores after the free dance competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik skate during the free dance competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Madison Chock and Evan Bates skate during the free dance competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
