LA Clippers: Kawhi Leonard’s top 3 performances of the season
By Dalton Sell
12/25/19 @ Los Angeles Lakers
In the most coveted Christmas Day game of the day, the LA Clippers were the visitors against their inner-city rival, the Los Angeles Lakers, for an intense showdown. Many already were labeling this as a preview of the Western Conference Finals, only raising the stakes.
With Kawhi Leonard having propelled them forward, the Clippers would come out victorious in a huge 111-106 win. Kawhi was the team’s leading scorer as he dropped a masterful 35 points in the victory, and shot 11-of-19 from the floor, an efficient 57.9 percent.
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Where Leonard genuinely excelled on the day was from behind the 3-point arc, having connected on 5-of-7 attempts, a phenomenal 71.4 percent. As a 36.6 percent 3-point shooter on the year, the forward stepped up significantly from deep.
Leonard had a boost from the free throw line, where he would finish shooting a perfect 8-of-8 on the day. Scoring aside, the forward made his presence felt everywhere, as he added five assists, twelve rebounds, and a single steal to the stat sheet.
In a game of this magnitude, Leonard’s dominant play was a significant factor in leading this team to a big win that gave the Clippers a 2-0 season advantage over the Lakers on the year. With the hype around this game and how well Leonard was able to play in order to secure the victory, this game comes in as Kawhi’s third-best of the season.