Maybe some year in the future the Los Angeles Clippers will have everyone 100% for the playoffs. It certainly doesn’t look like this is the year.
Kawhi Leonard played in the Clippers’ 101-90 loss to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 3 of their first-round series on Friday, but looked nowhere close to 100%. He missed Game 1 with a knee injury and was considered questionable for Game 3.
The final result was nine points on 4-of-7 shooting with nine rebounds, two assists, four turnovers and a minus-4 rating in 24 minutes on the court. He didn’t look anything like his usual dominant self on defense, either.
Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue provided some clarity about the situation after the game, telling reporters the team was managing Leonard’s minutes due to inflammation in his knee. He did say Leonard would be available for Game 4, though.
That wasn’t the entire reason why the Clippers lost convincingly in Dallas, but it’s definitely the most concerning storyline as the team moves forward down 2-1. It’s a familiar storyline as well, as he missed much or all of the Clippers’ playoff runs in 2023, 2022, 2021.
It was a disaster game for the Clippers, overall. After holding the Mavericks to only eight points in a quarter in Game 1, Los Angeles yielded an unacceptable amount of easy baskets to Dallas on Friday. It’s not even like Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving were cooking them. Both had off nights, combining to shoot 15-of-42 from the field. Dončić also missed time in the first half with an apparent injury.
Meanwhile, the Clippers’ offense was simply a mess with 18 turnovers on the night. Take out Ivica Zubac’s 8-of-11 shooting line and they were 24-of-59 (40.6%) from the field.
And we haven’t even talked about the ugliest part of the game.
Russell Westbrook, P.J. Washington ejected in fourth quarter
With the game all but out of reach, Russell Westbrook played stupid games and won stupid prizes.
As Dončić ran past him on defense, Westbrook reached out and yanked him back by the right arm. It was clearly not a basketball play, and Westbrook made it worse when he shoved Dončić away as the two exchanged words.
It had already been a highly chippy game — these teams have a combative history over the past few years — and it culminated in P.J. Washington walking up and shoving Westbrook in the back. Westbrook turned around and got him back, then was escorted away from the scene.
Westbrook and Washington were both issued two technical fouls, leading to automatic ejections. Westbrook finished the game 0-for-7 from the field with one point.
He’ll have an even more hostile crowd waiting for him in Game 4 on Sunday, scheduled for 1:30 p.m. CT in Dallas (ABC).
