The Los Angeles Clippers beat the Chicago Bulls 124-112 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, on Monday, ending the latter's two-game winning streak.

Having drained 18 of their 20 triples at 54.5 percent in the first three quarters, the Clippers turned the competition into a foregone conclusion early in the game. Nicolas Batum, Eric Gordon and Kawhi Leonard combined to shoot 16-for-24 from downtown for the team during those three periods.

The huge difference in 3-point shooting between the two sides became the most decisive factor in Monday's game. Both the Clippers and the Bulls scored 48 points each in the paint. The Bulls' 39.1-percent 3-point rate was already better than their season average of 36.7 percent, but they took only 23 attempts and made nine of them.

All of the Bulls' triples were made by their starters except Zach LaVine. LaVine went 6-for-8 in the paint and went to the free throw line to make seven shots. However, he also committed four turnovers and made a series of mistakes in defensive rotations, leaving multiple open 3-pointers for the Clippers.

The Bulls, back in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament zone, are striving to elevate higher in the conference. Judging by their defensive performance on Monday night, the team appeared to have expended much care on trying to contain Leonard. Whenever he tried to work in the low block, Leonard would always be trapped immediately. Limiting his field goal (FG) attempts to 13 was good enough. The Bulls were just caught up on an unseasonably hot night for the Clippers from deep.

The Clippers also capitalized well on the Bulls' 14 turnovers to generate 26 fast break points. Russell Westbrook contributed six points to that production and a double-double of 12 points and 10 assists. He became the ninth player in NBA history to deliver 10 or more assists in at least 400 games.

The Clippers continued to rank fifth in the Western Conference after securing their 40th win of the season. They are only half a game behind the fourth-ranking Phoenix Suns and, thus, remain hopeful of getting the home court advantage at least in the first round of the playoffs. However, the Clippers are only one game ahead of the seventh-placed Golden State Warriors. That means there is still a chance for them to begin the postseason from the play-in tournament.

Other games on Monday (away teams come first):

Dallas Mavericks 127-104 Indiana Pacers

The Mavericks ended their four-game losing streak with a big win at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Monday. Luka Doncic scored 10 and 13 points in the second and third quarters respectively for the team, extending their lead from two (29-27) to 25 points (99-74), clinching the victory in advance.

Having slipped fast since they traded for Kyrie Irving in February, the Mavericks are currently in a very unfavorable situation to compete for a play-in tournament berth. They are 11th in the West and half a game behind the Oklahoma City Thunder above. With only six games to go and having to face playoff teams in five of them, the Mavericks can't afford to make any mistake.

Philadelphia 76ers 111-116 Denver Nuggets

Nikola Jokic took the Nuggets one step closer to locking in as the West's No. 1 by scoring a triple-double of 25 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, on Monday. In the decisive third quarter, he made four of his five FG attempts to get 14 points, helping the team rally a 30-20 run. The Nuggets are 3.5 games above the Memphis Grizzlies with seven games to go.

The 76ers missed both of their star duo, Joel Embiid and James Harden, in Monday's game, but they still kept the game alive until the final minute. Tyrese Maxey had 29 points, four rebounds, five assists and three steals for the team. Both P.J. Tucker and Dewayne Dedmon failed to get any point in the starting lineup, but Paul Reed and Jalen McDaniels made surprisingly good offensive contributions off the bench by scoring 30 points collectively.

Minnesota Timberwolves 119-115 Sacramento Kings

The Timberwolves had seven players score in double digits at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California, on Monday, to pocket their fourth consecutive win and replace the Warriors in the sixth position in the West. They couldn't stop Domantas Sabonis from dropping a double-double of 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Kings, but threw him out of the game with six personal fouls with constant offensive aggression.

The Kings, which averaged 27.2 assists per game this season, the fourth-most in the league, only made 16 assists via facilitating plays. The Timberwolves forced both De'Aaron Fox and Sabonis to launch more individual attacks instead of getting teammates involved. Though both had good numbers, the team had to work hard to make each of their shots, which explains their 46.4-percent FG rate.

Milwaukee Bucks 126-117 Detroit Pistons

Houston Rockets 115-137 New York Knicks

Phoenix Suns 117-103 Utah Jazz

New Orleans Pelicans 124-90 Portland Trail Blazers