Kawhi Leonard proved to be recovering well after his long-term injury by helping the Los Angeles Clippers to a 125-118 victory over local rivals Los Angeles Lakers at a sold-out Crypto.com Arena.
Leonard played the entire second half for only the third time in his career, the last time being during Game 7 of the 2013 NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the Miami Heat. He finished Thursday night’s game with 25 points and seven rebounds.
“He said he felt good,” Clippers coach Ty Lue said of Leonard. “He knew how important this win was for us. And so he gave everything he had.”
“I thought I did a good job,” Leonard added, explaining that the trust he was able to put in teammates such as Norman Powell and Bones Hyland helped to make all the difference.
Missing the entirety of last season due to suffering a torn ACL, Leonard played his first consecutive contests last weekend for the first time since incurring his injury.
