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Kawhi Leonard did everything he could on Sunday night to deliver an upset victory for the Los Angeles Clippers against the Detroit Pistons.
The Clippers have been one of the worst teams in the Western Conference through the first 31 games of the regular season, while the Pistons have been one of the best in the Eastern Conference. Leonard showed he still had some gas in the tank.
He scored 55 points in Los Angeles’ 112-99 victory. He was 17-of-26 from the field and nailed five 3-pointers. He added 11 rebounds, five steals and three blocks to his stat line. It was the first time in his career he scored at least 50 points in a game.
The 55-point total also tied a Clippers franchise record. He shared the total with teammate James Harden. Leonard had a chance to break it, but he kept his fourth-quarter time to just six minutes and left the game with under a minute to go.
“Like I told (Clippers head coach Ty Lue), I would rather play another game than go out there and risk it,” Leonard said. “Hopefully, we can get another win and be in the same situation. It is what it is.”
Harden was teasing Leonard about taking long enough to reach at least 50 points in a single game.
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“It was a beautiful thing to see how efficient, how effortless it was,” Harden said after the game. “It was just so smooth. He got to whatever spot he wanted to and once you get to that spot it’s not even about the defender. It’s about him making the shot.
“Overly happy for him because behind the scenes you watch somebody and how hard they work. … For him, what he had to battle through just to go out there and be himself was a beautiful thing to see.”
Leonard has slowly been ramping back up to speed as he’s dealt with ankle and foot injuries this season on top of the knee issues that have plagued him his entire career. He already missed 10 games this season. He played 40 minutes for the first time last week against the Los Angeles Lakers and did it again Friday night.
“He’s finally getting healthy and finally being able to play enough minutes to be very effective,” Lue said. “When he’s healthy, he’s one of the top guys in the league. We’ve been able to see that of late.”
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The Clippers are on a four-game winning streak with the Sacramento Kings coming into town on Tuesday night.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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