Ohm YoungmisukESPN Staff Writer3:55 PM ET3 Minute Read
LOS ANGELES — The LA Clippers stopped believing they could beat the Phoenix Suns and are now wondering if they’ll ever have Kawhi Leonard back in the best-of-seven series.
Leonard was ruled out before Game 3 with a right knee sprain, which he aggravated at the end of the Clippers’ Game 1 win and played through in their Game 2 loss, according to Lawrence Frank, the Clippers’ president of basketball operations.
Leonard’s injury is unrelated to the torn right ACL injury that kept him out all of last season, a source told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
With Leonard and Paul George (sprained right knee) out, the Clippers fought Thursday night before losing 129-124 in the first round and falling 2-1 behind. Devin Booker torched the Clippers for 45 points and Kevin Durant added 28 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Leonard is monitored and evaluated daily. He’s considered day-to-day, and the Clippers have a quick turnaround ahead of Saturday’s 12:30 p.m. Pacific tip for Game 4.
“The symptoms worsened after Game 2,” Frank said before the Clippers and Suns played Game 3. “Of course, if we weren’t comfortable with it [Leonard] play [in Game 2], if we did not have. But things didn’t get any better after the game. They got worse. So we’re going to lock him out and take it day by day.”
After leaving Phoenix with a Game 1 win, Clippers head coach Ty Lue said his team believes they can win the series. Leonard was unstoppable at times, averaging 34.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 2.0 steals while shooting 54.5% from the field in the first round, adding to his stellar playoff reputation contributed.
But Lue said he learned of Leonard’s knee injury Wednesday night and was told ahead of the team’s shootaround Thursday morning that he would not have Leonard available.
“It’s very draining,” Lue said after the Clippers’ loss on Thursday. “I think more for Kawhi because you have a man who has left the cruciate ligament, never missed a rehab session, eats right, eats clean, does everything for his body and works extremely hard to get to this point. Then something like this happened to you.
“So it’s tough for him, despite all the work he puts in. I feel bad for him.”
The Clippers were already without George, who is likely out for the first-round series, sources told Wojnarowski before the first round began.
Frank said Leonard’s injury will not hasten George’s return from the injury George sustained on March 21.
“He’s made progress,” Frank said of George training and shooting on the pitch. “But his recovery time hasn’t changed because Kawhi is out tonight. He continues to work his butt off and makes progress every day. So day after day.”
Without Leonard, Norman Powell tried to keep up with Booker and scored 42 points. Russell Westbrook had 30 points, 12 assists, eight rebounds and three steals but took the blame for his six turnovers.
To make matters worse for the Clippers, the Suns went to the line 46 times compared to the Clippers’ 25 attempts.
Westbrook said he feels bad because Leonard can’t play after putting on two dominant performances in Phoenix. Leonard played 42 minutes and had 38 points, five rebounds and five assists in a 115-110 win at Phoenix in Game 1.
When asked about the long minutes he booked for the win, Lue said the Clippers carefully edited Leonard’s minutes and workload all season for that very reason, saying it “is what we saved for.” Leonard sat out at least one game in a row until the final two sets of the season.
Leonard played 39 minutes and had 31 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in the Suns’ 123-109 Game 2 win.
“I just feel sorry for him,” Westbrook said. “He probably played his best basketball in a while, quite frankly probably the best in the world. It just sucks for him mentally.
“But it was nice to see him around [at Game 3] and communicate with us at the bench. Hopefully we can see how he feels and see what’s next. If he’s not back, we need to rally around each other, support each other, find ways to make a difference. It is a series. Only before four. Get ready for Saturday afternoon.”