In a game that became tight in the fourth quarter, Kawhi Leonard’s health was paramount for the Clippers.
Leonard was listed as questionable for Game 3 due to right knee inflammation, and although he started on Friday night, he may have missed time during the Clippers’ 101–90 loss to the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center. Never looked sharp.
Leonard, who was in and out of the game, played the last time with 4:09 left and the Clippers down by 15 points. He played 25 minutes and had nine points, nine rebounds and four turnovers in a game in which the Clippers trailed by 21 in the fourth quarter.
“But we’re going to do it right,” Leonard said. “Time will tell, but we are doing all the right things.”
Leonard missed the last eight regular season games and the first playoff game. He had no contact during practice to come back.
Leonard played 35 minutes in his return, but sat out March 31 with a hamstring injury. He missed 10 of 17 shots, made all of his three-pointers and scored 15 points.
“The first game was pretty good,” Leonard said of the swelling. “Like I said, it didn’t react the way we wanted. It was either a limited minutes game tonight or it was not played. And I wanted to be on the field to help the team. And, these are the results. It’s disappointing that this happened to me at the end of the season. But, yes, we will keep going. We’re going to make it right.”
The Clippers trail 2-1 in the best-of-seven series and Game 4 is here on Sunday. There are less than 48 hours for Leonard and the Clippers to see how the inflammation can be managed.
The game became tense in the fourth quarter when Russell Westbrook, who missed all seven of his shots including all four of his three-pointers to finish with one point, got into it with Dallas star Luka Doncic, both one-pointers. Were pushing others. After this, Westbrook and Dallas’ P.J. Washington pushed each other. Westbrook and Washington, who got into a trash-talking match with Terrence Mann, were ejected on technical fouls.
“Everyone wants to play well and perform well, but we just have to maintain our composure no matter what the call comes,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “Just have to maintain your composure. When it comes down to it, we’ve just got to be better going forward.”
Leonard played about 10 minutes in the first half, sitting for a long time, did not enter the game to start the second quarter when the Clippers played short and George was unavailable because of foul trouble. Leonard came out for the first time with six minutes left in the first quarter and did not return until 6:58 left in the second quarter.
With 3:01 left in the half, Leonard was pulled again and did not return for the rest of the half. He had three points, four rebounds and two turnovers before going to the locker room.
“It takes time to get into a rhythm, as I was saying earlier. “I’m glad I played,” Leonard said. “For the most part, I was able to get out there and experience the game… I’m going to continue to move forward.”
