<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/los-angeles-clippers/clippers-news-kawhi-leonard-eye-opening-nba-finals-revealed');   ga('set', 'title', 'Kawhi Leonard’s eye-opening NBA Finals move revealed');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Kawhi-Leonard-walking-away.jpg"><figcaption>Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Kawhi Leonard’s eye-opening NBA Finals move revealed</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-26T07:50:48-07:00">June 26th, 7:50am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-26T07:50:48-07:00">June 26th, 7:50am</time><address><a>Malik Brown</a>Malik Brown is a multimedia reporter based in Atlanta who covers the Hawks and Dream for ClutchPoints. Malik has worked in entertainment and sports, and he specializes in the NBA and NFL.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Clippers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Los Angeles <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-clippers/clippers-news-kawhi-leonard-blunt-response-goes-here">Clippers were eliminated in the first round</a> of the playoffs by the Denver Nuggets, but there were some positives to take from their season as a whole. James Harden continued to be himself as far as a scorer and playmaker, and he had someone in Norman Powell who had one of the best seasons in his career. Ivica Zubac also had a great season and was one of the most improved players in the league.</p><p>Then there was Kawhi Leonard, who missed the beginning of the season because of knee recovery. Once he returned and got back into a groove, he proved to be a big addition to the Clippers’ lineup. While the NBA Finals were on, Leonard was <a href="https://x.com/TomerAzarly/status/1938093246166798511" rel="noopener">still putting in work</a> on the court, according to general manager Lawrence Frank.</p><p>“Lawrence Frank said Kawhi Leonard continued to work out and train through the end of the NBA Finals in order to push his body to be able to play through June,” Frank said via Tomer Azarly of Clutch Points via X, formerly Twitter.</p><p>The one thing everyone has worried about when it comes to Leonard is his health, and if the Clippers were ever to make a deep playoff run, the hope is that he can continue to play without getting hurt.</p><h2><b>Clippers looking to find playoff success</b></h2><p>The Clippers had a solid season last year, but they didn’t have much to show for it when they got to the playoffs. For the past two seasons, they’ve been eliminated in the first round, and it’s hard to figure out what they need to take the next step. Two seasons ago, when they lost to the Dallas Mavericks, they were <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/clippers-news-kawhi-leonard-shut-down-indefinitely-after-struggling-vs-mavs">missing Leonard for most of that series</a> because of injury. Last season, he was healthy for the Nuggets series, but they ended up losing in seven games.</p><p>The Clippers may need to add another piece to the roster to help them, and it may be somebody who’s on the younger side that they can trust.</p><p>With a full season of Leonard next year, the Clippers can definitely be a different team than they have previously been. He changed a lot for them when he came back in the lineup last season, and he can be that game-changer that they need to start the year.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Kawhi Leonard’s eye-opening NBA Finals move revealed

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/indiana-pacers/pacers-news-pascal-siakam-reveals-lesson-learned-kawhi-leonard');   ga('set', 'title', 'Pacers’ Pascal Siakam reveals ice-cold lesson he learned from Kawhi Leonard');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Feb-6-2025-Inglewood-California-USA-Los-Angeles-Clippers-forward-Kawhi-Leonard-2-is-defended-by-Indiana-Pacers-forward-Pascal-Siakam-43-as-he-drives-to-the-basket-in-the-first-h.jpg"><figcaption>Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Pacers’ Pascal Siakam reveals ice-cold lesson he learned from Kawhi Leonard</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-21T20:36:29-07:00">June 21st, 8:36pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-21T20:36:29-07:00">June 21st, 8:36pm</time><address><a>Richard Pereira</a>Richard Pereira joined ClutchPoints in January 2025 as an Associate Editor. He earned his degree from Florida Atlantic University in 2023 and has been covering the school's athletic programs since 2020, having served as a Sports Editor at the FAU University Press. He was granted the unique opportunity to report on the men's basketball team's journey to the Final Four in Houston for FAU Owls Nest during March Madness, consistently striving to grow as a sports journalist.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Indiana Pacers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Pascal Siakam learned a lot from Kawhi Leonard during their time together as teammates on the Toronto Raptors. So much so that the former understood a key lesson from the star forward as he looks to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/2-indiana-pacers-bold-predictions-nba-finals-game-7-thunder">lead the Indiana Pacers to glory</a>.</p><p>Siakam and Leonard were only co-stars for one season with the Raptors during the 2018-19 campaign. That was all they needed to lead the team to their first-ever NBA title after beating the Golden State Warriors in six games. Siakam played a solid role as a full-time starter throughout the playoff run as Leonard went on to win Finals MVP.</p><p>Now with the Pacers, Siakam is preparing for Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. He has a chance to do what he accomplished with Toronto in 2019, which led him to reflect on Leonard’s <a href="https://x.com/SIChrisMannix/status/1936553607404585410" rel="noopener">impact on his development</a> to being a star.</p><p>“Being even-keeled. I think Kawhi, no matter what happened, he is always the same. That’s something I try to have for me. It’s like no matter good or bad, make shots, miss shots, it doesn’t really matter. Just be yourself,” Siakam said, per Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix.</p><h2><b>What lies ahead for Pascal Siakam, Pacers</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Jun-19-2025-Indianapolis-Indiana-USA-Indiana-Pacers-forward-Pascal-Siakam-43-shoots-the-ball-against-Oklahoma-City-Thunder-guard-Isaiah-Joe-11-during-the-second-half-of-game-six.jpg"><figcaption>Kyle Terada-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Pascal Siakam has done a lot to build himself as one of the best players at his position. He has Kawhi Leonard to thank for that, as the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/editorials/pacers-x-factor-determine-nba-finals-game-7-thunder">Pacers star now looks to make history</a> on Sunday night.</p><p>This postseason has been marvelous for Siakam. After 22 games, he is averaging 20.7 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. He is shooting 51.8% from the field, including 42.9% from beyond the arc, and 72.2% from the free-throw line.</p><p>He played a crucial role in helping the Pacers elevate themselves into title contention, first reaching the East Finals in 2024. This year, they are now one game away from cementing themselves in NBA championship history forever.</p><p>The Pacers will fight to win their first-ever NBA title when they face the Thunder in Game 7. The contest will take place on June 22 at 8 p.m. ET.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Pacers’ Pascal Siakam reveals ice-cold lesson he learned from Kawhi Leonard

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/los-angeles-clippers/clippers-rumors-insider-james-harden-kawhi-leonard-prediction');   ga('set', 'title', 'Clippers rumors: Insider makes James Harden, Kawhi Leonard prediction');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Harden-and-Leonard.jpg"><figcaption>Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Clippers rumors: Insider makes James Harden, Kawhi Leonard prediction</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-05-11T11:21:26-07:00">May 11th, 11:21am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-05-11T11:21:26-07:00">May 11th, 11:21am</time><address><a>Jackson Stone</a>Jackson Stone is a Mercer University senior from Atlanta on track to graduate with a BA in communications. A lifelong sports lover, Jackson is a die-hard fan of all Atlanta teams. He joined ClutchPoints in 2023.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Clippers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-clippers/clippers-news-president-lawrence-frank-gets-brutally-honest-on-game-7-loss-vs-nuggets">Los Angeles Clippers are still sifting through the rubble</a> of their disastrous Game 7 loss vs the Denver Nuggets, in which everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong. The game did nothing to quell concerns about <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-clippers/nba-news-james-hardens-playoff-failures-devastating-thread">James Harden’s perceived inability</a> to perform in the biggest moments, as the All-Star had just seven points in the season-ending loss.</p><p>The Clippers now face some big questions this offseason about how they want to proceed with an aging roster but an owner in Steve Ballmer who is willing to spend big.</p><p>Recently, Clippers insider Law Murray of The Athletic broke down <a href="https://hoopshype.com/rumor/3635040/" rel="noopener">how he sees</a> the Clippers proceeding this offseason, per Hoopshype.</p><p>“I just expect James Harden to opt out and get a deal that lines up with Kawhi Leonard,” said Murray, per Yossi Gozlan on YouTube. “And that would make 2027 the big year to really look at something. So I think that’s really their avenue. You’re not paying three stars. You’re not paying a whole lot for the two that you have.”</p><p>The Clippers are no strangers to playing the free agency game. Of course, that was how the team initially lured in Leonard during the 2019 offseason in the first place, pairing him with Paul George in a partnership that has since broken up.</p><h2><b>A big decision for the Clippers</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/James-Harden-2.jpg"><figcaption>Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>James Harden surprised many with his play during the 2024-25 regular season, looking more like the prime version of himself and leading the Clippers to a much better record than many pundits were expecting.</p><p>Unfortunately, Harden’s playoff demons showed up at the worst possible time for the Clippers, as the star managed just seven points in Los Angeles’ season-ending loss to the Nuggets in Game 7.</p><p>Still, that likely wouldn’t signal cause for the Clippers to abandon ship on Harden altogether after he provided a stabilizing presence for them at the point guard spot all season, and did have a few good performances in their playoff run.</p><p>In any case, it doesn’t appear that the Clippers’ brass is looking to pull the plug and rebuild anytime soon.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Clippers rumors: Insider makes James Harden, Kawhi Leonard prediction

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/los-angeles-clippers/clippers-rumors-la-outlook-james-harden-kawhi-leonard-playoff-flameout');   ga('set', 'title', 'Clippers rumors: LA’s outlook with James Harden, Kawhi Leonard after playoff flameout');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Clippers-bench.jpg"><figcaption>Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Clippers rumors: LA’s outlook with James Harden, Kawhi Leonard after playoff flameout</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-05-04T08:03:58-07:00">May 4th, 8:03am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-05-05T08:02:49-07:00">May 5th, 8:02am</time><address><a>Troy Finnegan</a>Troy Finnegan is a Senior Editor and College Sports Lead at ClutchPoints. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2023 with a degree in journalism and minors in communications and sports media, as well as a critical sports studies certificate. He has had a passion for sports his entire life, and enjoys covering and writing about all sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Clippers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Los Angeles Clippers were the better team for large portions of their first-round series against the Denver Nuggets, and they will feel slighted that they are not the ones moving on to the next round. However, after a very tight series, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nuggets-jamal-murray-reveals-how-aggressive-3rd-quarter-sealed-win-over-clippers">Nuggets slammed the door shut on the Clippers’ season</a> with a dominant 120-101 victory in Game 7 on Saturday in Denver.</p><p>This Clippers team was playing some of its best basketball near the end of the season, peaking with a dominant victory of their own over the Nuggets in Game 3 and another comfortable victory with their backs against the wall in Game 6.</p><p>Now, however, all of that is gone after this Game 7 loss, and the Clippers have to re-evaluate their roster moving forward. What the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6328367/2025/05/03/kawhi-leonard-clippers-nba-playoffs-elimination-whats-next/" rel="noopener">next version of the team</a> will look like remains to be seen, but it will likely include both James Harden and Kawhi Leonard, according to Law Murray of The Athletic.</p><p>“It seems clear that the next stage, at least in the short term, will be centered around Harden and Leonard,” Murray wrote. “The Clippers are below the collective bargaining agreement’s first-apron threshold and intend to remain flexible with an eye toward the next two offseasons, according to league sources.</p><p>“The first domino toward that is what happens with Harden, who has a player option worth $36.4 million for next season.”</p><p>Murray also wrote that the star point guard is “expected to be back” with the Clippers one way or another no matter what happens with that player option. Despite <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/clippers-news-james-harden-bails-media-game-7-disaster">Harden’s struggles in yet another Game 7</a>, he carried the offense for much of the season and is still one of the best table-setters in the sport, even as his scoring comes and goes during the post-prime phase of his career.</p><p>Regardless of what the rest of the roster ends up looking like, the Clippers proved this season that they can contend with James Harden and Kawhi Leonard leading the way. LA was one of the best teams in the Western Conference during the second half of the season and has the chance to be one again next year.</p><p>Whether the Clippers try to retain their depth or make a trade for a third star remains to be seen, but it appears that at least the two biggest names from this 2024-25 run will be back for another crack at it next season.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Clippers rumors: LA’s outlook with James Harden, Kawhi Leonard after playoff flameout

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/los-angeles-clippers/clippers-news-kawhi-leonard-blunt-response-goes-here');   ga('set', 'title', 'Kawhi Leonard’s blunt response on where Clippers goes from here');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Kawhi-Leonard-blunt-response-on-where-LA-goes-from-here.jpg"><figcaption>© Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Kawhi Leonard’s blunt response on where Clippers goes from here</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-05-04T07:53:21-07:00">May 4th, 7:53am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-05-04T07:53:21-07:00">May 4th, 7:53am</time><address><a>Preston Byers</a>Preston Byers is an experienced writer and journalist who currently serves as an associate editor for ClutchPoints and as a staff writer at The Vindicator and Tribune Chronicle, where he covers sports in the Mahoning Valley. Previously, Preston worked as an associate editor for Dot Esports and a site expert for FanSided's Union and Blue.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Clippers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>For the third consecutive year, the Los Angeles Clippers were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. Last night, it was at the hands of the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-clippers/clippers-news-la-fans-shambles-brutal-2nd-quarter-vs-nuggets">Denver Nuggets, who dominated the second</a> and third quarters to send <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-clippers/clippers-ty-lue-keeping-kawhi-leonard-james-harden-together">Kawhi Leonard and Co.</a> on vacation.</p><p>In the middle quarters, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/denver-nuggets/nuggets-news-denver-rips-off-15-0-3rd-quarter-run-game-7-win-vs-clippers">the Nuggets outscored L.A. 72-40</a>, which put the game pretty much out of reach by the time the fourth quarter began. Leonard unsurprisingly had the best game of his team; he scored a game-high 22 points, which tied for the most with Aaron Gordon. Unfortunately for Leonard, no one else on the Clippers scored more than 13 points.</p><p>After another early playoff exit, Leonard, who uncharacteristically remained healthy for the entire series, was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6328367/2025/05/03/kawhi-leonard-clippers-nba-playoffs-elimination-whats-next/" rel="noopener">asked about growing</a> from this season.</p><p>“I mean, I don’t know right now,” Leonard said, via The Athletic’s Law Murray. “I guess we stayed playing at a high level, in a sense. But yeah, it’s a hard question to answer right now.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">🆕 <a href="https://twitter.com/TheAthletic?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheAthletic</a> </p><p>The LA Clippers had a triumphant regular season. Again. When the expectations were low, they smashed them.</p><p>But this was another early exit with raised expectations, one that reinforces that the franchise is in a state of transition more than contention. story⤵️ <a href="https://t.co/XgIhM2VUxa">pic.twitter.com/XgIhM2VUxa</a></p><p>— Law Murray 🤔 (@LawMurrayTheNU) <a href="https://twitter.com/LawMurrayTheNU/status/1918872396955517002?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 4, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>When Leonard signed with the Clippers and the team acquired Paul George in 2019, there were high hopes that the Clippers, after decades of futility and postseason shortcomings, would finally be able to truly become championship contenders. However, it has not worked out that way over the past six years.</p><p>During the 2019-20 postseason, the Clippers suffered one of their most embarrassing moments when they blew a 3-1 lead in the second round of the playoffs to the Nuggets. The following playoffs, despite Leonard going down with an injury, L.A. made it further than it ever had before. The Clippers reached the Western Conference Finals and, without Leonard, pushed the Phoenix Suns to six games before being eliminated.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, ivica Zubac and the Clippers have been eliminated from the 2025 NBA Playoffs by Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets ❌ <a href="https://t.co/FBC6U0hxC3">pic.twitter.com/FBC6U0hxC3</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1918847194053984684?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 4, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Since then, though, the Clippers have not won a playoff series. In 2022, they failed to qualify for the postseason by losing in the Play-In to the New Orleans Pelicans. In each of the last three seasons, they have lost in the first round to the Suns, Mavericks, and Nuggets.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-clippers/clippers-news-kawhi-leonard-agrees-long-term-extension">Leonard re-signed with the Clippers last offseason</a>, which will keep him under contract for the next two years. He is set to earn $50 million next season and $50.3 million during the 2026-27 season at age 35.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Kawhi Leonard’s blunt response on where Clippers goes from here

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/los-angeles-clippers/clippers-ty-lue-keeping-kawhi-leonard-james-harden-together');   ga('set', 'title', 'Clippers’ Ty Lue talks about keeping Kawhi Leonard, James Harden together');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Clippers-Kawhi-Leonard-and-James-Harden-against-the-Nuggets.jpg"><figcaption>Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Clippers’ Ty Lue talks about keeping Kawhi Leonard, James Harden together</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-05-03T22:50:08-07:00">May 3rd, 10:50pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-05-04T05:39:32-07:00">May 4th, 5:39am</time><address><a>Nathan Yasis</a>Nathan Yasis is an Associate Editor for ClutchPoints, specializing in the NBA.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Clippers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Tyronn Lue and the Los Angeles Clippers exited the playoffs in disappointing fashion, falling 120-101 to the Denver Nuggets. Despite entering the postseason on a hot streak—winning 18 of their final 21 regular-season games—and extending the series with a dominant Game 6 win, the Clippers couldn’t carry that momentum into Game 7. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-clippers/nba-news-james-harden-hit-with-brutal-reality-after-another-game-7-loss">James Harden struggled once again</a>, offering little help to Kawhi Leonard as LA’s season came to a frustrating end.</p><p>“It’s encouraging,” Tyronn Lue said following the Clippers’ <a href="https://www.twitter.com/NBATV/status/1918868632190235108" rel="noopener">season-ending loss on</a> Saturday night.</p><p>“I think James having to carry such a heavy load with Kawhi missing 45 games and just having to carry that load all season long, he did a great job with that. And I think Kawhi, coming back and having the confidence in his knee that he can play more minutes, he can get through these games. And those two together for a whole season, I think, would be tremendous.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"Those two together for a whole season, I think would be tremendous."</p><p>Ty Lue on the possibility of running back the Harden-Kawhi duo for another season <a href="https://t.co/y1kYXk4y91">pic.twitter.com/y1kYXk4y91</a></p><p>— NBA TV (@NBATV) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBATV/status/1918868632190235108?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 4, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Harden struggled mightily, finishing with just seven points on 2-of-8 shooting. Leonard led the way for the Clippers with 22 points, helping them take a narrow 26-21 edge after the first quarter.</p><p>“So when you have your best player missing (45 games), it’s kind of hard to really jell the way we wanted to. But I thought we did a good job of just sticking with it. And whatever we needed to do to win that night, they did it,” the Clippers head coach continued.</p><h2><b>The Denver Nuggets dismantling the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 7</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Clippers-Kawhi-Leonard-and-James-Harden.jpg"><figcaption>Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>What looked like a back-and-forth battle early on quickly turned into a rout. After the teams traded punches in the first quarter, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-clippers/clippers-news-la-fans-shambles-brutal-2nd-quarter-vs-nuggets">Nuggets seized momentum by dropping 37 points in the second</a>. Denver kept its foot on the gas coming out of the break, ripping off a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/denver-nuggets/nuggets-news-denver-rips-off-15-0-3rd-quarter-run-game-7-win-vs-clippers">15-0 run in the third quarter</a> that blew the game open and extended the lead to 75-50.</p><p>The Nuggets entered the fourth quarter with a commanding 93-66 lead, and even after Nikola Jokic picked up his third, fourth, and fifth fouls late in the third and took a seat, the Clippers still couldn’t cut into the deficit in any significant way.</p><p>Denver built a lead as large as 35 points, dominating the paint 54-42 and outrebounding the Clippers 46-36. They also capitalized on second-chance opportunities, scoring 22 points to L.A.’s 10.</p><p>The Clippers wrapped up their first season at Intuit Dome with a disappointing first-round exit, a result that underscored a harsh truth: as long as <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-clippers/clippers-news-kawhi-leonard-james-harden-reveal-keys-to-must-win-game-7-vs-nuggets">James Harden and Kawhi Leonard</a> remain their top options, this team may be stuck. Both stars are well past their peak, and the window for true contention appears to be closing fast.</p><p>The franchise’s challenge will be maintaining its competitive edge while staying prepared to make the best long-term decisions. For now, that means continuing to build around Harden and Leonard.</p><p>The Nuggets advanced despite a chaotic end to their regular season, which saw David Adelman step in as interim head coach after the team dismissed Michael Malone with only three games remaining.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Clippers’ Ty Lue talks about keeping Kawhi Leonard, James Harden together

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/san-antonio-spurs/spurs-news-kawhi-leonard-congratulates-gregg-popovich-phenomenal-career');   ga('set', 'title', 'Kawhi Leonard congratulates Spurs’ Gregg Popovich on a ‘phenomenal career’');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Gregg-Popovich-khawi.jpg"><figcaption>Scott Wachter-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Kawhi Leonard congratulates Spurs’ Gregg Popovich on a ‘phenomenal career’</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-05-03T21:21:18-07:00">May 3rd, 9:21pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-05-03T21:21:18-07:00">May 3rd, 9:21pm</time><address><a>Richard Pereira</a>Richard Pereira joined ClutchPoints in January 2025 as an Associate Editor. He earned his degree from Florida Atlantic University in 2023 and has been covering the school's athletic programs since 2020, having served as a Sports Editor at the FAU University Press. He was granted the unique opportunity to report on the men's basketball team's journey to the Final Four in Houston for FAU Owls Nest during March Madness, consistently striving to grow as a sports journalist.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Gregg Popovich’s decision to permanently step away from being a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/spurs-news-shaq-charles-barkley-react-gregg-popovich-stepping-down-head-coach">head coach stunned the NBA world</a>. It also garnered him recognition from current and former San Antonio Spurs players. Case in point: Kawhi Leonard.</p><p>Starting his NBA career in 2011, Leonard first played for Popovich. Leonard developed into a star for the Spurs, winning NBA Finals MVP in 2014. He represented San Antonio for seven seasons until the team traded him to the Toronto Raptors in 2018, where he went on to win another title in 2019.</p><p>Now with the Los Angeles Clippers, Leonard reacted to Popovich’s retirement from coaching after his team’s loss to the Denver Nuggets in Game 7. What he said about the Spurs legend <a href="https://x.com/ohnohedidnt24/status/1918857861687283996" rel="noopener">shows the honor and respect</a> he has for him.</p><p>“He had a phenomenal career. He coached until pretty much he couldn’t in a sense. It shows how much dedication he had to the game, how much he loved the game, and how much he gave to the game. I appreciate everything he’s done for me,” Leonard said.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Kawhi on Pop:</p><p>“He had a phenomenal career. He coached until pretty much he couldn’t in a sense. It shows how much dedication he had to the game, how much he loved the game, and how much he gave to the game. I appreciate everything he’s done for me” <a href="https://t.co/sI2EsmpJR3">pic.twitter.com/sI2EsmpJR3</a></p><p>— Oh No He Didn’t (@ohnohedidnt24) <a href="https://twitter.com/ohnohedidnt24/status/1918857861687283996?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 4, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><h2><b>What’s next for Gregg Popovich, Spurs</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/khawiGregg-Popovich.jpg"><figcaption>Soobum Im-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/spurs-news-danny-green-message-to-gregg-popovich-after-stepping-down">Gregg Popovich will now transition to the Spurs’ front office</a> with his head coaching career officially over.</p><p>As a result, Popovich will take over the role of team president. This means he will continue to take part in big decisions regarding the Spurs’ roster construction.</p><p>This would be positive news for the San Antonio fanbase, knowing how invaluable Popovich’s ability to land talented prospects to the franchise. He showed that with his ability to develop Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and Leonard from the beginning.</p><p>The Spurs will remain in good hands as Mitch Johnson becomes their next head coach. With Popovich now handling the internal decisions, the franchise will look forward to returning to title contention with Victor Wembanyama as their cornerstone.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Kawhi Leonard congratulates Spurs’ Gregg Popovich on a ‘phenomenal career’

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/los-angeles-clippers/clippers-news-kawhi-leonard-james-harden-reveal-keys-to-must-win-game-7-vs-nuggets');   ga('set', 'title', 'Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard James Harden reveal keys to must-win Game 7 vs. Nuggets');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Kawhi-Leonard-James-Harden-Los-Angeles-Clippers-Denver-Nuggets-Nikola-Jokic.jpg"></figure><h1>Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard James Harden reveal keys to must-win Game 7 vs. Nuggets</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-05-02T18:50:00-07:00">May 2nd, 6:50pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-05-02T18:51:42-07:00">May 2nd, 6:51pm</time><address><a>Tomer Azarly</a>Tomer Azarly is in his ninth season as the LA Clippers beat writer and NBA reporter for ClutchPoints. From the Lob City era to the Kawhi Leonard-James Harden era, he brings you everything you need to know about the Clippers as well as coast-to-coast coverage of the NBA.In his free time, Tomer likes to play basketball, video games, and draw.You can follow his Twitter and Instagram for all Clippers content.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Denver Nuggets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Kawhi Leonard helped the LA Clippers to a Game 6 win in Los Angeles on Thursday night, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-clippers/clippers-news-tyronn-lue-reveals-calls-saved-season-nuggets">forcing a Game 7</a> against the Denver Nuggets. With James Harden by his side, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-clippers/clippers-news-james-harden-breaks-silence-after-forcing-game-7-vs-nuggets">the tandem combined for 55 points</a> in the final home game for the Clippers in this series.</p><p>With Game 7 back in Denver, both teams are going to be hyper focused on the details in what’s sure to be a tightly-contested game.</p><h2><b>Kawhi Leonard, James Harden reveal keys to must-win Game 7 vs. Nuggets</b></h2><p>Through six games, the <a href="https://x.com/TomerAzarly/status/1918417943681257526">series between the Clippers and Nuggets</a> has been almost dead-even. </p><p>The Clippers have scored 23 more points than the Nuggets have and have turned the ball over 16 fewer times, but have been out-rebounded by 17.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Numbers from the Clippers-Nuggets series, tied at 3-3 heading into Game 7 in Denver.</p><p>What stands out?</p><p>Total Points:<br>LAC: 657<br>DEN: 634</p><p>Field Goals Made-Attempted:<br>LAC: 249-of-510 (48.8%)<br>DEN: 241-of-507 (47.5%)</p><p>3-Pointers Made-Attempted:<br>LAC: 76-of-204 (37.3%)<br>DEN: 68-of-174…</p><p>— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) <a href="https://twitter.com/TomerAzarly/status/1918417943681257526?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 2, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“We’ve been there before, we played there, it’s going to be our fourth time, so just play like any other game,” Kawhi Leonard said of the keys to the Clippers winning Game 7. “Just go out there and have fun, but stay locked in with each other. We’ve got to talk. Like I’ve said before, they’re a great team at home, so we’ve got to be able to come out in that first quarter.”</p><p>Kawhi Leonard recorded 27 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists in Game 6 while shooting 11-of-22 from the field. Leonard has been the leading scorer of this series at 25.5 points per game, narrowly ahead of Nikola Jokic’s 25.3 points per game average.</p><p>Slow starts have been a problem for the Clippers, who have seen the Nuggets outscore them in the opening minutes of almost every game thus far.</p><p>Tyronn Lue has been preaching getting off to better starts all series, and Kawhi Leonard reiterated that heading into the final game.</p><p>“We can have the confidence to know that we have one win [in Denver], but this is going to be a different game. Like I said, we’ve got to come out aggressive in the first quarter and hold them, make sure they don’t get a big lead on us.”</p><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Kawhi-Leonard-2-moves-the-ball-against-Denver-Nuggets-guard-Christian-Braun-0.jpg"><figcaption>© Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>James Harden had a strong bounce-back performance for the Clippers in Game 6, scoring 28 points, with six rebounds, and eight assists on 10-of-20 shooting from the field. It was a much-needed scoring outburst for Harden, who had combined for 26 points in Games 4 and 5.</p><p>After the game, Harden touched on what he believed would be the keys to the win-or-go-home Game 7 in Denver.</p><p>“Attention to detail for a full game, however long that game is, whether it’s regulation or overtime,” Harden said. “But attention to detail. Like, Jokic is… He’s just special in the sense of like, he can score the basketball but he’s more deadly when he’s playmaking and getting everybody else involved. So it’s like one second that you think you should be helping, or you do help, you’ll pay for it. You really have to be on your [keys] and locked in on what you’re supposed to be doing.</p><p>“And then it’s like who you’re guarding. So for us, it’s like understanding what we need to be doing as a team, and then individually, limiting our mistakes. Whatever team can make the opposite team make more mistakes, you’ll give yourself a chance to win.”</p><p>Nikola Jokic has been a handful to defend in this series, averaging 25.3 points, 11.8 rebounds, 10.5 assists, and 2.2 steals across six contests while shooting 50.9 percent from the field and 44.8 percent from three.</p><p>Game 7 of Clippers-Nuggets is will tip off at 4:30PM PST on TNT, and the winner of that game will take a flight to Oklahoma City shortly after their victory to prepare for Game 1 against the OKC Thunder.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard James Harden reveal keys to must-win Game 7 vs. Nuggets

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/los-angeles-clippers/clippers-news-kawhi-leonards-blunt-response-to-facing-elimination-vs-nuggets');   ga('set', 'title', 'Kawhi Leonard’s blunt response to facing elimination vs Nuggets');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Kawhi-leonard-Los-Angeles-Clippers-jamal-Murray-Nikola-Jokic-Denver-Nuggets.jpg"></figure><h1>Kawhi Leonard’s blunt response to facing elimination vs Nuggets</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-30T11:07:11-07:00">April 30th, 11:07am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-30T11:07:56-07:00">April 30th, 11:07am</time><address><a>Tomer Azarly</a>Tomer Azarly is in his ninth season as the LA Clippers beat writer and NBA reporter for ClutchPoints. From the Lob City era to the Kawhi Leonard-James Harden era, he brings you everything you need to know about the Clippers as well as coast-to-coast coverage of the NBA.In his free time, Tomer likes to play basketball, video games, and draw.You can follow his Twitter and Instagram for all Clippers content.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Denver Nuggets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Los Angeles Clippers dropped Game 5 of their <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-clippers/clippers-news-tyronn-lue-defiant-changes-season-brink-nuggets">first round series</a> against the Denver Nuggets, making it two straight losses for Kawhi Leonard’s team and placing them just one loss away from elimination.</p><p>After back-to-back lackluster efforts in which they trailed by at least 20 points, the Clippers are desperately trying to find an answer.</p><h2><b>Kawhi Leonard’s blunt response to facing elimination vs. Nuggets</b></h2><p>Kawhi Leonard finished Tuesday’s Game 5 loss against the Nuggets with 20 points, nine rebounds, 11 assists, two blocks, and just one turnovers in 37 minutes of play. The 11 assists marked a new playoff career-high, but it didn’t matter as Denver led by double-digits for most of the second half.</p><p>James Harden was <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-clippers/clippers-news-james-harden-ghosts-media-second-straight-dud-nuggets">essentially absent</a> for a second consecutive game, recording 11 points, eight rebounds, and five assists on just 3-of-9 shooting from the floor. The Nuggets have committed to blitzing pick-and-rolls involving him, which has essentially taken him out of actions once he makes a pass to the open roll man.</p><p>Jamal Murray and Russell Westbrook were the primary reasons for the Nuggets strong start, with the guards each outscoring Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, and Norman Powell on the night.</p><p>Murray scored a game-high 43 points, five rebounds, seven assists, and three steals while shooting 17-of-26 from the field and 8-of-14 from three. Westbrook added 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting with a trio of three-pointers.</p><p>“Tonight, he played great,” Kawhi Leonard said of Jamal Murray. “He came out, made shots, got hot, found his teammates, and we pretty much couldn’t stop him. He played amazing. Russ came in and played great as well, scoring it with 10 or 15 points. Overall a good team win for them.”</p><p>Head coach Tyronn Lue agrees, citing Murray’s strong start as the reason the Clippers got down as many as 12 in the first quarter and were never able to fully recover.</p><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Nuggets-guard-Jamal-Murray-27-reacts-after-a-steal-and-basket.jpg"><figcaption>© Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images<br></figcaption></figure><p>“I thought the tough start was Jamal Murray,” Lue said after the loss. “I thought he came out being aggressive, which we knew he would. That’s why we started with the blitz against him, to slow him down, because we knew in Game 5, he would come out aggressive. He made every shot. Pull-up threes, mid-rangers. We did everything against him; we blitzed, we dropped, we switched, we did a lot of different coverages but he had a hell of a game.</p><p>In every game this series thus far, the <a href="https://x.com/FlyByKnite/status/1917470523581239594" rel="noopener">Clippers have been vastly outplayed</a> in the opening minutes. Through the 25 total minutes — the first five minutes of each game — the Nuggets have outscored the Clippers 76-53. LA has gone on to win the remaining 220 minutes, 493-453.</p><p>“As far as us defensively, just having that presence to start the game,” Lue added. “I think the last three games, they’ve been really attacking us to start the game early, so we have to be better with that, especially on the road. But they played well, they played great. Holding Joker to 13 points and losing the game is tough, but that’s how they beat you. If you worry about him too much, other guys can beat you. But I thought Jamal Murray was excellent tonight.”</p><p>Kawhi Leonard took positives from the fact that the Clippers only turned the ball over 10 times on the night, but their defense was the biggest problem, allowing a 131 points to a team that had struggled to score for most of this series.</p><p>“I’m glad that we were able to take care of the ball,” Leonard said. “We have to keep doing that. We just have to do it again pretty much and we’ve got to get some stops. I feel like they were scoring the ball a lot and we didn’t get no stops. We were getting down in transition and half-court sets scoring as well, but we’ve got to get stops.</p><p>Nikola Jokic recorded just 13 points on 4-of-13 shooting, but added 10 rebounds and 12 assists for his fourth triple-double in five games so far this postseason. Aaron Gordon added 23 points and four rebounds while Christian Braun scored 11 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.</p><p>“Just try to get out to a better start early,” Leonard added. “I think we pretty much the whole series have probably gotten out to a great start, so just trying to stay in the game early instead of trying to make the heroic comebacks. That’s all we can do. We’ve got to fight now.”</p><p>Now facing elimination, Leonard just wants his Clippers to continue playing confident with a next-play mentality.</p><p>“Just taking it one possession at a time. Going out there, trying to start the game off in a good way and don’t get down early. But if we do, just stay poised, keep fighting, live with our mistakes, and we just have to play confidently.”</p><p>Game 6 is scheduled to tip off at 7PM PST on TNT. It could very well be the Clippers’ final game of the season, and a Nuggets win would send them to the second round, where the Oklahoma City Thunder await.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Kawhi Leonard’s blunt response to facing elimination vs Nuggets

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/los-angeles-clippers/clippers-news-kawhi-leonard-nikola-jokic-truth-bomb-shocking-game-4-ending');   ga('set', 'title', 'Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard drops Nikola Jokic truth bomb after shocking Game 4 ending');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Jokic-playoff-game.jpg"><figcaption>Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard drops Nikola Jokic truth bomb after shocking Game 4 ending</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-27T21:16:17-07:00">April 27th, 9:16pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-27T21:16:17-07:00">April 27th, 9:16pm</time><address><a>Sebastian Avila</a>Sebastian Avila is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints who's a big fan of the NBA, including Devin Booker and the Suns, as well as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He also enjoys watching the 49ers and Padres. When he's not watching games, you will find him running, playing basketball or out climbing.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Denver Nuggets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Denver Nuggets star center Nikola Jokic had a strong performance in Game 4 of their first-round matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers, helping his team tie the series up at 2-2 in a 101-99 victory on Saturday.</p><p>The Clippers had a real chance to seize control of the series with a potential 3-1 lead against the Nuggets. But Los Angeles fell flat after halftime of Game 4, with Jokic making them pay for it.</p><p>The Clippers didn’t answer the moment to start the second half. Jokic went to work, hitting 6 of his 11 shots in the third quarter, outscoring the entire Clippers team, which managed just five baskets on 18 attempts. What could have been a tight game turned into a 20-point blowout heading into the fourth quarter.</p><p>The Clippers weren’t facing a fully loaded Nuggets team either. Denver was missing a key player in veteran point guard Russell Westbrook, who used to play for the Clippers, due to a foot injury. But even without him, the Nuggets managed to survive Game 4.</p><p>The MVP candidate took over, as the Nuggets needed a big performance from him. The Serbian big man finished the night <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6314516/2025/04/27/clippers-nuggets-nba-playoffs-game-4/" rel="noopener">with 36 points, including 16 in the third quarter</a>.</p><p>“Him being an MVP player, getting to his spots, making shots,” Clippers star Kawhi Leonard said afterwards, Law Murray of The Athletic. “Gotta give him credit. On the defensive end, we had five baskets. It’s the playoffs; it’s how it goes sometimes.”</p><p>Leonard, trying to keep things positive, mentioned this after the tough home-court loss.</p><p>“It’s still a series, best of three. And we’ll see what happens,” he shared.</p><p>Leonard led the Clippers in Game 4 with 24 points on 10-for-22 shooting from the field. Additionally, he had nine rebounds, two assists and two steals in 40 minutes of action.</p><p>But the Clippers know they let a big one get away in the last game. They need to be at their best if they want to overcome Denver, which plays the Clippers in Game 5 in Inglewood this coming Tuesday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard drops Nikola Jokic truth bomb after shocking Game 4 ending

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/los-angeles-clippers/clippers-news-kawhi-leonard-passes-paul-george-on-all-time-scoring-list');   ga('set', 'title', 'Kawhi Leonard passes Paul George on Clippers all-time scoring list');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Kawhi-Leonard-Paul-George-Los-Angeles-Clippers-Philadelphia-76ers-Sixers.jpg"></figure><h1>Kawhi Leonard passes Paul George on Clippers all-time scoring list</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-26T17:18:36-07:00">April 26th, 5:18pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-26T17:21:35-07:00">April 26th, 5:21pm</time><address><a>Tomer Azarly</a>Tomer Azarly is in his ninth season as the LA Clippers beat writer and NBA reporter for ClutchPoints. From the Lob City era to the Kawhi Leonard-James Harden era, he brings you everything you need to know about the Clippers as well as coast-to-coast coverage of the NBA.In his free time, Tomer likes to play basketball, video games, and draw.You can follow his Twitter and Instagram for all Clippers content.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Denver Nuggets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets are in a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-clippers/clippers-news-james-harden-nikola-jokic-6-players-technical-fouls-game-4-altercation">heated playoff battle</a>, with Game 4 at Intuit Dome on Saturday afternoon. Kawhi Leonard has been healthy for the Clippers so far this postseason, which is something he was unfortunately not able to do when Paul George was here.</p><p>During Saturday’s Game 4, Kawhi Leonard jumped Paul George in the Clippers history books.</p><h2><b>Kawhi Leonard passes Paul George on Clippers all-time scoring list</b></h2><p>Kawhi Leonard came into Game 4 against the Nuggets just 16 points behind Paul George for third on the Clippers All-Time scoring list.</p><p>The Clippers forward, now in his 13th season in the NBA and his sixth with the Clippers, is playing in his 32nd career playoff game with the franchise. He also entered Saturday with 876 career points in the playoffs.</p><p>Durign the fourth quarter of Game 4, <a href="https://x.com/TomerAzarly/status/1916285193167798636">Kawhi Leonard scored his seventh bucket</a> to give him 18 points on the night, passing Paul George on the all-time list.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Kawhi Leonard has passed Paul George for 3rd place on the Clippers’ all-time playoff scoring list.</p><p>— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) <a href="https://twitter.com/TomerAzarly/status/1916285193167798636?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 27, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>The all-time leading scorer in Clippers franchise history is Chris Paul at 1,125 points. Blake Griffin sits in second place with 1,073 points in the postseason.</p><p>Kawhi Leonard reached 3rd all-time in franchise history in just 32 games, while George reached his mark in 38 games.</p><p>Kawhi Leonard struggled through that point, shooting just 7-of-17 from the field. Leonard and LA entered the fourth quarter down 85-65, with James Harden also struggling shooting just 3-of-8 from the field.</p><p>If the Nuggets hold on and win, they’ll even up the series at 2-2. If the Clippers are somehow able to come back and win, they’ll take a 3-1 series lead heading back to Denver for Game 5.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Kawhi Leonard passes Paul George on Clippers all-time scoring list

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/los-angeles-clippers/clippers-news-kawhi-leonard-james-harden-la-react-to-first-nba-playoff-game-at-intuit-dome');   ga('set', 'title', 'Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, Clippers react to first NBA Playoff game at Intuit Dome');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Kawhi-Leonard-James-Harden-Ivica-Zubac-Norman-Powell-Los-Angeles-Clippers-Intuit-Dome-Denver-Nuggets.jpg"></figure><h1>Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, Clippers react to first NBA Playoff game at Intuit Dome</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-25T17:36:03-07:00">April 25th, 5:36pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-25T17:36:57-07:00">April 25th, 5:36pm</time><address><a>Tomer Azarly</a>Tomer Azarly is in his ninth season as the LA Clippers beat writer and NBA reporter for ClutchPoints. From the Lob City era to the Kawhi Leonard-James Harden era, he brings you everything you need to know about the Clippers as well as coast-to-coast coverage of the NBA.In his free time, Tomer likes to play basketball, video games, and draw.You can follow his Twitter and Instagram for all Clippers content.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Denver Nuggets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, and the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Denver Nuggets in Game 3 of their first round playoff series on Thursday night. The game also marked the first ever NBA playoff game at the Clippers’ <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-clippers/clippers-news-the-la-wall-claims-free-throw-victim-horse-head-gimmick">all-new Intuit Dome</a>, which owner Steve Ballmer had been looking to for months.</p><p>Needless to say, Game 1 at the Clippers’ <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-clippers/clippers-news-james-harden-drops-mic-killer-take-game-3-blowout-nuggets">new home did not disappoint</a>.</p><h2><b>Kawhi Leonard, James Harden react to first NBA Playoff game at Intuit Dome</b></h2><p>Intuit Dome had a sellout in its first ever playoff game, with all 17,927 seats filled and cheering on the Clippers throughout the night.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-clippers/clippers-news-the-wall-fans-horse-heads-distract-nuggets-game-3">“The Wall,” a section dedicated to the biggest</a> of Clippers fans, donned baby blue robes in the first half with the Nuggets shooting in their direction. The energy inside Intuit Dome was unlike any that had ever been present for a Clippers home game. Even Game 6 against the Utah Jazz, which had one of the most fiery crowds to date, didn’t compare to the roar of Intuit Dome.</p><p>“It was great,” Kawhi Leonard said leading the Clippers to a win and a 2-1 series lead. “They did a good job of filling up the seats. They were cheering all night, especially people on the wall, but it was a collective unit out there. It was very loud at times. I didn’t know where we was, but it was fun. It was a fun game to play.”</p><p>Nuggets interim head coach David Adelman made comments before the series shifted to Los Angeles implying that Intuit Dome was loud because they pumped in sound throughout the game.</p><p>“They have the crowd towards our bench, it’s like a high school crowd which is actually really cool,” Adelman said at a Nuggets practice. “The other thing is they pump sound in the place. That place is so loud.”</p><p><a href="https://x.com/TomerAzarly/status/1915567771959910632">The Nuggets’ coach clarified</a> his comments prior to Game 3, giving credit to the Clippers afor their creativity.</p><p>“I do think it’s unique that they’re trying this. I think it’s really cool. I know people got out of sorts that I said, ‘pumping noise.’ It’s just really loud… I love what they’re doing here. The NBA needs more of that, more creativity.”</p><p>At that point, however, the damage had already been done and <a href="https://x.com/TomerAzarly/status/1915590943165821313">fans came ready</a> to prove Adelman wrong.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Intuit Dome pretty much full for the first ever Clippers playoff game here (and for a 7PM tipoff) <a href="https://t.co/3LMMujf056">pic.twitter.com/3LMMujf056</a></p><p>— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) <a href="https://twitter.com/TomerAzarly/status/1915590943165821313?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 25, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>The Clippers trailed by as many as seven points in the first quarter before using a 23-2 run to blow the game open and the roof off of Intuit Dome. LA led by 20 just before halftime and by as many as 34 points, never relinquishing the lead or allowing Denver to get within 17 in the second half.</p><p>“It was a good start,” <a href="https://x.com/NBA/status/1915638111230415214">James Harden said</a>. “It was a good Game 1, or Game 1 at Intuit. It was crackin’. It was loud. It was just how we expected it to be. I think that’s one of the reasons why we jumped out to a huge lead. They got behind us and we just rode that wave.</p><p>“It was really loud. It was probably the loudest it’s been all year. We expected that, but like i said before ,Game 4 needs dto be even louder. Denver is a very, very tough team. They’ve been through it all. And they’re not just going to give in so we’ve got to make sure that we come ready to go and prepared for Game 4.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">James Harden on the Intuit Dome's playoff debut:</p><p>"It was just how we expected it to be… they got behind us and we just rode that wave."<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBAPlayoffs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBAPlayoffs</a> presented by Google <a href="https://t.co/04TA82Ilx9">https://t.co/04TA82Ilx9</a> <a href="https://t.co/Rmg2HzlK56">pic.twitter.com/Rmg2HzlK56</a></p><p>— NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1915638111230415214?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 25, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>In addition to the blue robes and white rally towels, “The Wall,” also had horse head hats in attempt to troll Nuggets star and horse aficionado Nikola Jokic.</p><p>Kawhi Leonard led the way for the Clippers with 21 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists. James Harden added 20 points, six rebounds, and nine assists. Ivica Zubac added 19 points and nine rebounds.</p><p>The Clippers’ bench had been a weak spot throughout the first two games in this series, but Nicolas Batum recorded 12 points, five rebounds, two assists, and three blocked shots while Derrick Jones Jr. added 10 points and two blocks. LA’s bench outscored Denver’s 31-6 in Game 3 and, as a team, outscored them 13-3 in fast break points.</p><p>“It was great,” <a href="https://x.com/FlyByKnite/status/1915877034934603986">Ivica Zubac said</a>. “It was great, man. We were looking forward to it ever since the beginning of the season, for the playoffs. We knew they’ve been consistent throughout the season, very loud. And we knew they were gonna take it to the next level in the playoffs. It meant a lot to us, it was great, and hope for some more next game.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Ivica Zubac on the crowd at the first-ever Intuit Dome playoff game: “It was great. It was great, man. We were looking forward to it ever since the beginning of the season, for the playoffs. … We knew they were gonna take it to the next level in the playoffs. Meant a lot to us.” <a href="https://t.co/cuXGVkxSHl">pic.twitter.com/cuXGVkxSHl</a></p><p>— Justin Russo (@FlyByKnite) <a href="https://twitter.com/FlyByKnite/status/1915877034934603986?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 25, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Norman Powell broke out of his shooting slump in the fourth quarter of Game 2 and continued staying hot in Game 3, adding 20 points and three assists on 7-of-12 shooting. Powell had 12 of his 20 points in the third quarter, helping the Clippers hold off stubborn Denver team.</p><p>“It was good,” Norman Powell added. “I was a little worried when we were first running out, but when tipoff came, the whole arena filled and it was packed all the way to the top. The energy was amazing from start to finish. I’m glad that our first playoff game was a win here, but we still have more work to do. We’ve got to be ready and focused and locked-in for Saturday They’re a great team. They’re a championship team, so we’ve got to be ready to play. We haven’t done anything yet.”</p><p>Saturday evening’s Game 4 will be another big contest, as Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, and the Clippers will look to take a 3-1 series lead and have a chance to close the series out in Denver in Game 5.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, Clippers react to first NBA Playoff game at Intuit Dome

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/los-angeles-clippers/clippers-news-kawhi-leonard-hits-gatorade-with-haterade-psa');   ga('set', 'title', 'Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard hits Gatorade with haterade PSA');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Kawhi-Leonard-2-moves-the-ball-against-Denver-Nuggets-guard-Christian-Braun-0.jpg"><figcaption>© Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard hits Gatorade with haterade PSA</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-25T08:33:40-07:00">April 25th, 8:33am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-25T08:33:40-07:00">April 25th, 8:33am</time><address><a>Julian Ojeda</a>Julian Ojeda is an Orlando-based sports journalist with 3 years of professional writing under his belt, specializing in both NBA and NFL coverage. A devoted Orlando Magic fan, he deftly balances fervent fandom with insightful reporting, possessing a keen eye for compelling narratives.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Clippers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Kawhi Leonard <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-clippers/clippers-news-stephen-a-smith-drops-strong-la-nba-finals-take">delivered another standout performance</a> on Thursday night, leading the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-clippers/clippers-news-james-harden-drops-mic-killer-take-game-3-blowout-nuggets">Los Angeles Clippers to a commanding 117-83 victory over the Denver Nuggets in Game 3</a> of their first-round NBA Playoff series. However, it was Leonard’s postgame press conference that drew additional attention, as the two-time NBA Finals MVP made headlines for his actions off the court.</p><p>Before fielding questions from the media, Leonard removed all Gatorade bottles from the interview table. As he did so, he reportedly remarked, “Take those Gatorades down… kids don’t need to be drinking that.”</p><p>When asked by a media member to elaborate on his reasoning or suggest healthier alternatives, Leonard declined to comment further.</p><p>“I’m not going to mention it right now, you can talk to me after,” he said.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="zxx"><a href="https://t.co/T8TpYjFUKd">pic.twitter.com/T8TpYjFUKd</a> <a href="https://t.co/Xd9DLoIkI5">https://t.co/Xd9DLoIkI5</a></p><p>— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) <a href="https://twitter.com/Ballislife/status/1915741817401741566?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 25, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Kawhi Leonard doubles down on Gatorade snub while powering Clippers past Nuggets</b></h2><p>Leonard has a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKwlnh61Tsw" rel="noopener">history of distancing himself</a> from Gatorade branding. During the 2020 NBA All-Star Game, after winning MVP honors, he similarly removed a Gatorade bottle from the podium, stating at the time, “Not sponsored by Gatorade.”</p><p>Leonard’s public gesture adds a new layer to his reputation for privacy and independence off the court, while also sparking conversation around athlete endorsements and product promotion. Whether the move was meant as a health-conscious message or a continued rejection of non-affiliated branding remains unclear.</p><p>On the court, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-clippers/familiar-version-kawhi-leonard-makes-clippers-nba-title-contender">Leonard has continued to set the tone for the Clippers in the postseason</a>. He finished Game 3 with 21 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists while shooting 7-for-17 from the field and 3-for-6 from three-point range. His steady leadership has helped Los Angeles take a 2-1 series lead over the Nuggets.</p><p>Through three games, Leonard is averaging 27.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.7 steals per game, while shooting 60.8% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc.</p><p>The Clippers will look to maintain momentum as they host the Nuggets once again for Game 4 on Saturday evening. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. ET on TNT, with Los Angeles aiming to protect home court before the series shifts back to Denver for Game 5.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard hits Gatorade with haterade PSA

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/denver-nuggets/nuggets-news-nikola-jokic-kawhi-leonard-haters-mic-drop');   ga('set', 'title', 'Nuggets news: Nikola Jokic tells off Kawhi Leonard haters with epic mic drop');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Nuggets-star-Nikola-Jokic.jpg"><figcaption>Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Nuggets news: Nikola Jokic tells off Kawhi Leonard haters with epic mic drop</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-25T07:18:27-07:00">April 25th, 7:18am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-25T07:18:27-07:00">April 25th, 7:18am</time><address><a>Nathan Yasis</a>Nathan Yasis is an Associate Editor for ClutchPoints, specializing in the NBA.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Denver Nuggets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>After two close contests to open the series, Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers returned home and dominated the Nikola Jokic-led Denver Nuggets, securing a 117-83 victory Thursday night to take a 2-1 lead in the first-round series.</p><p>One week into the playoffs, the Clippers vs. Nuggets matchup stands out as the best opening-round series. Denver edged out a narrow 112-110 victory at home in Game 1, but the Clippers responded with a 105-103 road win in Game 2. A quick look at the scores reveals both games were decided by just five points combined. However, Game 3 was a different story.</p><p>With Nikola Jokic continuing his dominant play and Kawhi Leonard performing at his peak, a Game 7 showdown in Denver seemed highly likely.</p><p>After Game 3, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/denver-nuggets/nuggets-news-nikola-jokic-reveals-ivica-zubac-forced-him-to-do-battle-giants">Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic</a> shared <a href="https://www.twitter.com/ohnohedidnt24/status/1915653174351823299?s=46&amp;t=0VgLvCcpTsmLUyl6hpiIew" rel="noopener">his thoughts about</a> Kawhi Leonard stating, “He’s not supposed to care what other people think about him. He’s a champion, he’s a special player. He’s definitely a unique player. If I’m in his skin, I would definitely not give a damn.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Nikola Jokic on Kawhi Leonard:</p><p>"He's not supposed to care what other people think about him. He's a champion, he's a special player. He's definitely a unique player. If I'm in his skin, I would definitely not give a damn" 😂 <a href="https://t.co/ga0mvlhcwJ">pic.twitter.com/ga0mvlhcwJ</a></p><p>— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) <a href="https://twitter.com/ohnohedidnt24/status/1915653174351823299?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 25, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Jokic did his best to keep the Nuggets in the game, recording a triple-double with 23 points, 13 rebounds, and 13 assists. However, the outcome was never really in question during the second half.</p><p>The Nuggets racked up 16 turnovers and committed 21 personal fouls across their roster. Zeke Nnaji, Hunter Tyson, and Julian Strawther got limited playing time but failed to leave much of an impression.</p><h2><b>The Nuggets not measuring up to the Clippers in Game 3</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Nikola-Jokic-and-Aaron-Gordon-guarding-Clippers-star-Kawhi-Leonard.jpg"><figcaption>Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Denver also lost the rebounding battle, allowing 38 total boards while grabbing just 11 offensive rebounds. Poor shooting, a lack of bench production, and defensive breakdowns made it a game to forget for the Nuggets, who finished with a -34 point differential.</p><p>Although the Nuggets’ attempt to contain Kawhi Leonard had some success—holding the Clippers star to 21 points on 7-of-17 shooting—Denver still struggled against LA’s balanced offensive attack.</p><p>The trio of James Harden (20), Norman Powell (20), and Ivica Zubac (19) came out strong, providing significant scoring support. On top of that, the Nuggets had to contend with the Clippers fully capitalizing on their home-court advantage at the Intuit Dome.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/denver-nuggets/nuggets-news-battling-illness-crucial-clippers-series">The Denver Nuggets had a tough night</a> offensively, shooting just 40.3% from the field in their latest game. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/denver-nuggets/nuggets-news-michael-porter-jr-s-injury-status-for-game-3-vs-clippers">Michael Porter Jr. struggled mightily</a>, hitting only 2-of-9 from the floor and 1-of-6 from beyond the arc, finishing with just 7 points and a -25 plus-minus in 35 minutes.</p><p>The Nuggets have several challenges ahead of them. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/denver-nuggets/nuggets-news-russell-westbrook-injury-game-3-clippers">Russell Westbrook left early in Game 3 because of left foot inflammation</a>, while Porter Jr., who made a costly error in Game 2, struggles with a shoulder injury that might end his postseason.</p><p>Despite these obstacles, Jokic stays confident that he and the Nuggets can rally to even the series before returning to Denver for Game 5.</p><p>“We were in this situation before. Not even in the playoffs, even in the season,” Jokic remarked.</p><p>“And, you know, we always answer back. And hopefully, we’re going to do it again.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Nuggets news: Nikola Jokic tells off Kawhi Leonard haters with epic mic drop

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/los-angeles-clippers/clippers-news-kawhi-leonard-stopper-peyton-watson');   ga('set', 'title', 'Kawhi Leonard stopper can ‘definitely disrupt’ him after 78% shooting game for Clippers');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Kawhi-Leonard-vs-Nuggets.jpg"><figcaption>Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Kawhi Leonard stopper can ‘definitely disrupt’ him after 78% shooting game for Clippers</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-23T15:30:43-07:00">April 23rd, 3:30pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-23T15:33:00-07:00">April 23rd, 3:33pm</time><address><a>Lorenzo J Reyna</a>Lorenzo J Reyna has joined ClutchPoints as Associate Editor of NFL &amp; NCAA Football. He's equipped with past experience for both realms through his recent stops at Pro Football Network and Heavy while also writing for 247Sports. His Twitter/X handle is @LJ_Reyna and his Instagram is @lj_zo_rey.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Clippers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Kawhi Leonard dropped 39 points in the Game 2 win for the Los Angeles Clippers. He delivered a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-clippers/clippers-news-kawhi-leonard-proves-hes-all-the-way-back-with-history-making-game-2-dominance">history making performance against the Denver Nuggets</a>. But a stopper believes he can “definitely disrupt” the NBA champion moving forward in these NBA playoffs.</p><p>Peyton Watson will play a pivotal role for the Nuggets in Game 3 at the Intuit Dome. Watson told reporters Leonard only got “a real tough shot on me” while stopping one other.</p><p>Watson is relishing the opportunity of facing Leonard, especially after shooting 78% in the Tuesday win. He dropped this bold statement before the much anticipated third game.</p><p>“I’m looking forward to the challenge… I think that I can definitely disrupt him with my length and what I do on that end,” Watson said.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"I'm looking forward to the challenge… I think that I can definitely disrupt him with my length and what I do on that end."</p><p>Peyton Watson on guarding Kawhi Leonard 🗣️</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/DNVR_Nuggets?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DNVR_Nuggets</a>)<a href="https://t.co/3H4RyD27tv">pic.twitter.com/3H4RyD27tv</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1915161761402994809?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 23, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Denver needs Watson’s defense. Leonard is averaging 30.5 points per game so far in this Western Conference first round series.</p><h2>Can Peyton Watson stop Kawhi Leonard? A look at Clippers-Nuggets matchup</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Kawhi-Leonard-dribbling.jpg"><figcaption>Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Watson shares multiple things in common already with Leonard. Both are Los Angeles region natives. Except Watson was born in Beverly Hills — 64 miles away from Leonard’s hometown of Riverside.</p><p>The two rose as prep stars in the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Southern Section. Watson delivered a stellar high school career at Long Beach Poly. Leonard starred for Canyon Springs in Moreno Valley before transferring to Riverside’s Martin Luther King High.</p><p>Both bring new a near identical frame to this matchup — as 6-foot-7 options. Leonard comes with a 25-pound advantage over the 200-pound Watson, though.</p><p>The former UCLA Bruins star provides versatility on the floor, bouncing between shooting guard and small forward. Watson will likely man the latter position to thwart the Clippers veteran.</p><p>The 2023 NBA champion isn’t a scoring option. He’s combined for nine points in this series. But the long option is more defensive force on the court. Watson averaged a career-best 1.4 blocks per game this season. He also produced another career-high with 0.7 steals per game. Denver will trust his defense Thursday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
16.9	4.6	2.8	0.4	1.1

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
16.9	4.6	2.8	0.4	1.1

Kawhi Leonard news

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