Bane's 36 points powers Magic past Clippers at Intuit Dome

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The margin for error keeps shrinking for the Clippers, and on Sunday night at Intuit Dome, it finally snapped.

In a 111-109 loss to the Orlando Magic, the Clippers found themselves on the wrong end of a frantic final 90 seconds — the kind that can define a season hovering below .500.

It started with 1:26 remaining.

Desmond Bane drove hard to the rim and was initially denied at the summit, only for the Clippers to be whistled for goaltending. Instead of a stop and potential lead, it was a 109-107 Magic advantage. On the very next possession, Bane was called for traveling — a lifeline for the Clippers — but he erased the mistake in stunning fashion.

Bane snatched the defensive rebound in transition and, without hesitation, fired a full-court strike to Paolo Banchero for a wide-open dunk. Just like that, Orlando led 111-107 with 40.4 seconds remaining.

It was the exclamation point on a dominant performance from Bane, who torched the Clippers for 36 points, five rebounds and an assist in just 32 minutes. He dictated tempo, hunted mismatches and punished late rotations all night long.

The Clippers still had one final chance.

Trailing by two with under 10 seconds left, they secured the defensive rebound and pushed the ball up the floor. Kawhi Leonard, who had been surgical for most of the evening, drew a hard double-team with two seconds to go. Leonard made the correct read, kicking to an open Bennedict Mathurin on the wing.

The shot looked clean. It just didn’t fall. And that was the night.

Lost in the final sequence was a historic milestone for Leonard. With his 663rd three-pointer as a Clipper, he passed Jamal Crawford for sole possession of fourth place on the franchise’s all-time three-point list. Leonard finished with 37 points, eight rebounds and four assists on 14-of-25 shooting in 33 minutes — another reminder that, at his best, he can still control games.

But control is fragile.

No team led by double digits in a contest defined by symmetry. Both squads shot an identical 40-for-83 from the field. The separator came from beyond the arc: the Clippers shot just 22 percent, while Orlando knocked down 35 percent of its threes. In a two-point game, that gap loomed large.

Mathurin continued to validate his acquisition from the Pacers, pouring in 21 points, nine rebounds and five assists in 30 minutes off the bench. Though he went 1-for-5 from deep, his downhill aggression kept the Clippers afloat. Through five games in a Clippers uniform, he has totaled 110 points — instant offense in a season desperate for it.

Jordan Miller chipped in 14 off the bench. Nicolas Batum, however, logged 14 scoreless minutes — his second straight game without a point and fourth time this month he’s been held scoreless. For a team starving for perimeter consistency, those empty stretches sting.

Orlando’s supporting cast made timely contributions. Banchero finished with 16 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, orchestrating late. Wendell Carter Jr. controlled the interior with 14 rebounds — no other player on either side reached double figures on the glass.

The Clippers fall to 27-30, now three games below .500 and clinging to the 10th seed in the Western Conference — the final play-in position. There is little cushion and even less room for nights like this.

They’ll have three days to sit with it before hosting the Minnesota Timberwolves, currently 35-23 and entrenched in the sixth spot in the conference, back at Intuit Dome on Thursday. If Sunday proved anything, it’s this: execution, not effort, is separating this team from stability. And in late February, that difference is everything.