Kawhi Leonard is heating up at the right time for the Los Angeles Clippers.
He missed the first 34 games of the season with injury setbacks and took time to be with his family as they had to evacuate the Southern California wildfires, but “The Klaw” has been on point in each of the last eight games.
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Leonard recorded his third matchup of the season on Friday where he scored at least 30 points. The two-time NBA Champion and NBA Finals MVP dropped 31 points, six rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and four steals in a 132-100 victory for the Clippers over the Brooklyn Nets.
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Leonard was highly efficient from the field (10-of-14 shooting, 71.4 percent) and made five of six 3-pointers.
Kawhi Leonard got it done on both ends for the Clippers tonight!
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????️ 5 3PMClippers move to 10-2 in their last 12! pic.twitter.com/JyLezyoRRN
— NBA (@NBA) March 29, 2025
It felt good for Los Angeles to see its star forward post back-to-back games of 25 or more points, while shooting over 50 percent from the field. Leonard had a double-double in Wednesday’s performance versus the Knicks — collecting 27 points with 10 boards and seven assists in a 126-113 win for the Clippers. He has Los Angeles on a two-game winning streak and holding the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference at 42-31.
The NBA world wants to see a healthy Leonard in the playoffs, and this is a very good start.
Leonard’s group is only separated by five games in the loss from the No. 2 seed Houston.
Since its victory over the Pistons on March 6, Los Angeles has won 10 of its last 12 games.
He will lead the Clippers in a road matchup on Sunday versus the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Stephen M. Smith is a writer for Ball Exclusives. You can follow him him X via @CoachingMSmith.
