The Lakers beat the Clippers in NBA Cup action on Tuesday night. While the Lakers won their group and clinched a spot in the quarterfinals, the Clippers fell to 5-13 on the season despite the fact that Kawhi Leonard was back in the lineup for the second straight game.

Kawhi Leonard says the Clippers must force star scorers to pass after falling to 5-13 in a blowout loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in NBA Cup.

Leonard is still one of the best two-way players in the world when healthy, but he has a long history of injuries.

To make matters worse, the Clippers seem to be on the brink of implosion. Their body language on defense was awful all game on Tuesday, making simple defensive mistakes due to lack of communication, concentration, and effort. Plus, Ty Lue and Kawhi Leonard's remarks suggest that they may be a deeper discontentment within the team.

Leonard scores 20 in his return to the lineup after missing 10 games with a sprained right ankle, and Ivica Zubac finishes with 33 points and 18 rebounds in a 120-105 defeat.

The Clippers were on a serious roll against the Lakers as recently as January. Then the Lakers got Luka Dončić and everything changed.