LOS ANGELES — Russell Westbrook started the night off with a bang against his former team, but it was Kawhi Leonard who secured yet another Clippers win over the Los Angeles Lakers by doing something he hasn’t done in a decade.
In the biggest game of the season for the Clippers, Leonard played the entire second half for only the third time in his career, finishing with 25 points and seven rebounds in a 125-118 victory over the Lakers before a sold-out crowd at Crypto.com Arena.
The last time Leonard played an entire half was the second half of Game 7 of the 2013 NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the Miami Heat. While LeBron James had the upper hand that night, Leonard helped the Clippers stave off a furious second-half rally by James on Wednesday night in what felt like a do-or-die game for both teams trying desperately to avoid the play-in tournament.
“He said he felt good,” Clippers coach Ty Lue said of Leonard. “He knew how important this win was for us. And so he gave everything he had.”
The Clippers (42-38) are tied with the Golden State Warriors (42-38) but currently occupy the fifth spot in the Western Conference playoff standings with two games remaining in the regular season. While they beat their hallway rival for a franchise-record-tying 11th consecutive time, the Clippers had to fend off the Lakers, who cut a 24-point third-quarter deficit down to seven multiple times.
James scored 30 of his 33 points in the second half. While the Lakers sent double teams at Leonard to help hold him to six shots and eight points in the second half, Leonard’s presence on the court opened things for Norman Powell and Bones Hyland.
Both guards scored 14 points each in the second half with Hyland scoring all 14 of his in the fourth quarter to match James.
“I thought I did a good job,” Leonard said of playing the entire half. “They threw a little different defense at me in the second half. Just trusting my teammates. Norm had a big half, Bones had a big half, [Ivica Zubac], so they closed the game out for us tonight.”
All eyes were on Westbrook from the start in his first meeting against his former team since the Lakers traded him to Utah, which bought him out of his contract and allowed him to sign with the Clippers.
Westbrook, playing with electric energy, helped the Clippers bolt to a 20-8 lead. He blocked a jumper by Austin Reaves from behind, hit Zubac for an alley-oop, assisted Eric Gordon on a 3 before drilling his first three shots, including two 3-pointers.
“Every night, he’s coming out with energy, being aggressive, no matter what game it is,” Leonard said of Westbrook, who left without speaking to reporters after the win. “He’s helping us be a better team, be a faster team, and be more organized with him having the ball and pointing us in our spots.”
Westbrook did not play in the fourth quarter with Lue riding Powell and Hyland in the backcourt. But Westbrook was the first to jump off the bench and celebrate with Powell after he stole the ball and lobbed a pass to Leonard, who threw down a thunderous alley-oop dunk with 6:35 left to push the Clippers up 20 and forcing the Lakers to call timeout.
After missing all of last season to recover from a torn ACL and enduring a minutes restriction while sitting out at least one game in a back-to-back until playing in his first of consecutive contests last weekend, Leonard showed he had plenty of energy while playing an entire half for the first time as a Clipper.
“He’s ready and he’s committed himself to winning,” said Powell, who won a title with Leonard in Toronto. “[That is] all he really cares about. He’s going to lay his body on the line for the team. And I think that’s what everybody is noticing and doing as well. He’s a leader. He doesn’t talk as much, but he shows you with his effort and his preparation every single day.”
Asked if this was a playoff-type performance from Leonard, Powell said the two-time Finals MVP has another gear.
“Playoff Kawhi looks different,” Powell said. “I’ve seen it firsthand. … But I think he is getting locked in. He knows what these games mean. He’s preparing himself and he’s going to come out and have that consistent effort, no matter if the game’s going our way, making shots or not. He has that same approach and mindset.”