LA Clippers: Kawhi Leonard reminded LA how important he is

Kawhi Leonard used Game to remind the LA Clippers why they fought so hard to obtain him back in 2019.

Following both a 2-0 series lead and a Game 5 victory which gave them a 3-2 series lead, the Dallas Mavericks truly looked as if they were in the driver’s seat for the remainder of their first-round playoff series with the LA Clippers. Then, Kawhi Leonard happened.

On the night of June 4 or Game 6 of their first-round series against the Mavs, Leonard tied his current career-high scoring playoff output with 45 points. To put his performance into context, the Clippers‘ second-highest scorer on the night was Reggie Jackon. He finished with 25 points.

Paul George added 20 points and 13 rebounds on the night.

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Despite all of this and the fact that Mavs star Luka Doncic had an off night in which he scored under 30 points for just the second time in the series, LA still had to seemingly escape this one, winning only by seven. The Clippers managed to pull away in the final minutes of the game, and the final score wasn’t exactly indicative of how close the game truly was.

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As a result, it appears as if Game 6 was yet another edition of Kawhi having to rescue the Clips from defeat and, this time around, elimination from the playoffs. Sure, the aforementioned pairing of Jackson and George was impactful, but the stats fail to lie: bucket-wise, they combined just to tie Leonard’s amount of points scored.

This normally would not be a big deal since, as previously established, Kawhi having to pull a LeBron James and put the team on his shoulders is nothing particularly new. However, this time he had to match his personal best for points in a game, while Dallas’s best player was having an off night, to push the series to a Game 7.

Considering all that and the fact that the game was still within reach for the Mavs with a couple of minutes remaining in the game; that’s not a good look for LA, especially if they have high hopes of advancing beyond the second round.

Should the Clippers win, they’re slated to face off against the top-seeded Utah Jazz in the Western Conference semifinals.

But regardless of what happens in the deciding Game 7 on Sunday, what transpired in Game 6 was a statement win for Kawhi nonetheless. It reminds the world that the Clippers would not even be where they are now were it not for his involvement, while also pointing at the fact that he is still one of the most elite players in the league.

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The Clippers may not win the NBA Finals this year, but if they hope to win one in the not-so-distant future, he’s their best shot at doing so.