LA Clippers beat Sacramento Kings 121-96: Darius Garland scores 30 with 16 in the first quarter as the Clippers never trail

Darius Garland scored 30 points, 16 of them in the first quarter, and the LA Clippers never trailed in a 121-96 win over the Sacramento Kings at Intuit Dome on Wednesday, October 21. Brook Lopez added 17 points and 11 rebounds off the bench, and the Clippers led by as many as 28 in front of 17,927 fans.

Garland made 11 of 19 shots and 3 of 8 threes and was plus-15 in 32 minutes. He scored 11 points in the first 2:38, including threes from 25, 29 and 29 feet. Zach LaVine led Sacramento with 28 points, and Domantas Sabonis had 14 points, 18 rebounds and 8 assists on 5-of-5 shooting.

It’s Darius Garland AGAIN from DEEP! 🚀 pic.twitter.com/VxslCLUBhW

— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) October 22, 2026

Video: LA Clippers / X.

How it turned

Garland’s 25-foot three opened the scoring, and the Clippers led 14-6 after his third three in the first 2:38. Sacramento stayed within 19-14 on two De’Andre Hunter threes, but the Clippers pulled away behind their bench. Rookie Keaton Wagler scored five points and set up a Gradey Dick three, Lopez had a running dunk, and Wagler’s 26-foot pull-up with 48.5 seconds left made it 41-26. The Clippers led 41-29 after one.

Dick scored the first four field-goal points of the second quarter for a 47-29 lead, but the Kings answered with a 14-3 run, with Emanuel Sharp hitting a step-back three and LaVine a 26-footer, to cut it to 50-43. Isaiah Jackson scored on a tip-in and two dunks in 38 seconds to push it back to 56-43, LaVine hit a step-back three to make it 56-50, and the Clippers led 61-54 at halftime after a Lopez basket with 5.2 seconds left.

The Clippers outscored Sacramento 32-16 in the third quarter. Jackson scored seven points in the first 3:19, finishing with a three-point play off a Garland lob for a 71-56 lead. Late in the quarter, Lopez scored six points in 1:47 and Kris Dunn hit a three as the Clippers closed on a 13-3 run, and Kobe Sanders’ layup with 4.3 seconds left made it 93-70. Wagler’s running jumper made it 108-80 with 6:47 to play.

Keaton Wagler ➡️ Kris Dunn

OKAY NOW!! 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/VBf6UyDqyL

— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) October 22, 2026

The numbers

The Clippers shot 52 percent, made 14 of 35 threes and handed out 29 assists. They had 14 steals and outscored Sacramento 27-18 in fast-break points and 56-48 in the paint. Wagler scored 15 with 5 rebounds and 5 assists, going 3-of-6 from three, Jackson had 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting, and Dick scored 12 on 3-of-4 shooting. Dunn added 7 points, 7 assists and 3 steals, and Rui Hachimura had 10 points and 8 rebounds but shot 3-of-13.

Sacramento’s side

LaVine went 10-of-19 with three threes. Sabonis, in his first regular-season game since season-ending knee surgery, grabbed 17 defensive rebounds. Precious Achiuwa scored 15 off the bench on 5-of-8 shooting, and rookie Darius Acuff Jr. had 12 points and 3 steals but shot 5-of-24 and missed all seven of his threes. Keegan Murray scored 2 points on 1-of-8 shooting. The Kings went 16-of-28 at the free-throw line and did not block a shot. Sacramento played without Malik Monk (ankle) and Ben Simmons (Achilles), and the Clippers were without Bradley Beal (knee), Brandon Ingram (Achilles) and Max Strus (foot).

What’s next

The Clippers visit the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, October 23 (10 p.m. ET, 5 a.m. Saturday Cairo time). The Kings host the Portland Trail Blazers the same night (10 p.m. ET, 5 a.m. Saturday Cairo time).

Full box score and play-by-play: Game Center. All-time head-to-head. Before the game: Tyronn Lue on Wagler’s role next to Garland and Sabonis on managing his return.