Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard. Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Watch: Kawhi Leonard can’t miss vs. Lakers

LeBron James missed Wednesday’s Clippers-Lakers battle with an ankle injury. Kawhi Leonard didn’t miss a shot for two-and-a-half quarters.

Leonard made his first eight shots of the game and finished with a 25-point triple-double in the Clippers’ 127-116 win over their cross-hallway opponents at the Crypto.com Arena. It's only the second triple-double of Leonard's career. Overall, he shot 11-for-16 and made all three of his free throws - and two of his five misses came on the same play.

The Clippers scored 77 points in the first half and shot 66 percent from the field. Leonard went 7-for-7 while Terance Mann was 6-for-7 before halftime, and James Harden scored 20.

Still, the Lakers didn’t quit. They got within two points in the fourth quarter when D’Angelo Russell blocked Harden and it turned into a layup on the other end.

Leonard re-entered the game, and the Lakers' hopes for a comeback died. Leonard assisted on three straight baskets as the Clippers went on an 11-2 run. Overall, the Clippers outscored the Lakers 17-8 while Leonard was on the court in the fourth, as he collected four points, four assists and four rebounds.

By contrast, Anthony Davis came up small down the stretch. In 8:53 of fourth-quarter time, Davis didn't score and had as many fouls as rebounds (two). For the entire game, he had an impressive 26 points and 12 rebounds - but that was before Leonard started guarding him on defense down the stretch.

At the beginning of the game, Leonard couldn't miss. At the end, he denied Davis so completely that he barely got a chance to miss. 

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