The Los Angeles Clippers will look to reach the .500 mark for the first time this season when they host the New York Knicks on Monday night.

Los Angeles last hit .500 on November 3, after a 3-3 start that included a loss to the Miami Heat. That defeat marked the first of 19 losses in a 22-game stretch, dropping the Clippers to 6-21.

The Clippers had two recent opportunities to reach the break-even mark but fell short, including a 116-112 loss at the San Antonio Spurs on Friday. They bounced back with a 123-120 win over the Memphis Grizzlies the following night, keeping their hopes alive.

That win marked Los Angeles’ fourth in five games, and coach Tyronn Lue praised the effort, especially given the back-to-back road schedule.

“Guys were fatigued,” Lue said. “We had a tough loss Friday night, but we just kept being positive in the huddle, telling the guys to keep pushing and making the runs. It starts with our defense, and we were able to get stops, run in transition, and score.”

The Grizzlies jumped out to a 41-point first quarter and led by as many as 19, but the Clippers rallied with a 35-point second quarter to close the gap. Kawhi Leonard led the team with 28 points, while Darius Garland and reserve Bennedict Mathurin each added 21 points. Mathurin also grabbed 10 rebounds.

Backup forward Isaiah Jackson, acquired alongside Mathurin in the trade that sent Ivica Zubac to the Indiana Pacers, made a significant impact with 12 points and 12 rebounds off the bench.

“He plays hard and competes,” Lue said. “He can switch, guard the basketball, rebound, run the floor, and get behind the defense on pick-and-rolls. We needed his athleticism, and he did a good job for us.”

Monday’s game marks the first of a five-game homestand for the Clippers and the third of a five-game road trip for New York.

The Knicks enter off a 142-103 win over the Denver Nuggets on Friday and a 110-97 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday. In that loss, New York never led and trailed by as many as 23 points, committing 19 turnovers.

“They’re a great team,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said of the Lakers. “But we had some controllables that we didn’t handle well. That’s frustrating. We didn’t give ourselves much chance to win at any point.”

New York struggled from beyond the arc, making just 8-of-34 (23.5%) shots, and failed to capitalize on the absence of LeBron James. Brown was also frustrated by the team’s 15-9 deficit in second-chance points.

“Karl-Anthony Towns had 25 points and 16 rebounds, and Jalen Brunson added 24 points, seven assists, and six rebounds for the Knicks,” Brown said. Mikal Bridges went scoreless, missing all six shots, including four 3-pointers, in 27 minutes.

Brunson scored 26 points in the Knicks’ 123-111 home win over the Clippers on January 7, while Leonard posted 25 points for Los Angeles.

—Field Level Media/Reuters