Kawhi Leonard turning back clock, leading Clippers into new year vs. Jazz

With a quicker tempo that has led to improvement on both sides of the floor, the Los Angeles Clippers will ride a season-best five-game winning streak into a game against the Utah Jazz on Thursday at Inglewood, Calif.

A disappointment early in the season with a plodding style, the Clippers no longer appear to be a veteran team whose relevance had faded. Kawhi Leonard looks as spry as ever, with an average of 37.8 points during the winning streak.

The run includes Leonard’s career-best 55-point game against the Detroit Pistons on Sunday as the Clippers have morphed from a balanced offense into one that has a primary scoring option.

“I think we’re just playing better (and) the cream is rising to the top,” Leonard said. “You see all the work guys are putting in and they’re making (3-pointers) now.”

Los Angeles has averaged 16.8 made 3-pointers during the win streak while shooting 43.8% from distance. That compares to 13.2 made 3s on the season at 36.6%.

The improved play also has come with center Ivica Zubac missing all but 11 minutes of the win streak with a sprained left ankle.

“We’re growing as a team and understanding what we need to do,” Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue said. “Our backs were against the wall, and our guys are responding.”

Yanic Konan Niederhauser, Los Angeles’ 6-foot-11 rookie, is finally getting some extended minutes and the first-round draft pick scored a career-high 16 points in a 131-90 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday.

The Jazz will enter off a 129-119 home loss to the Boston Celtics on Tuesday, which drained some of the energy that came from a 127-114 road victory over the San Antonio Spurs three days prior.

Where the Jazz held the Spurs to 43.4% from the floor, they saw the Celtics shoot 51.1% for the game and 61.9% after halftime with 70 second-half points.

Utah’s Keyonte George had been listed as questionable with an illness before he bounced back with 37 points. But the Jazz had seven shots blocked by Celtics guard Derrick White and had nine shots blocked in the game.

Jusuf Nurkic scored a season-high 26 points with eight rebounds and eight assists. He knocked down 10 of 11 shots and both 3-point attempts. Lauri Markkanen added 22 points in the loss.

“Nurk helps us create an advantage in a way no one else does,” Utah head coach Will Hardy said. “… His physicality in general, screening and rebounding, is unique in our league. He’s in a category almost all by himself in terms of the way he can help you create an advantage.”

In his first season with the Jazz, Nurkic is being relied upon even more after big man Walker Kessler went down with a season-ending shoulder injury in early November.

Unfortunately, Nurkic was declared out of Thursday’s game late on Wednesday with a toe sprain. George is again questionable due to his illness.

Jazz rookie Ace Bailey, who is scoring 10.4 points per game, missed the past two contests after he came away with a left hip flexor strain during a victory over the Detroit Pistons on Friday. He will also miss the game vs. the Clippers.

Thursday’s game is the first meeting between the Jazz and Clippers since Utah earned a 129-108 victory on the road in the season opener for both teams.