The LA Clippers fell short for most of their 118-100 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday when star forward Kawhi Leonard was forced out of the game.
Leonard suffered back spasms between the first two quarters. He played the entire first quarter, completing with six points, two rebounds and two assists on a 2-on-4 shot. However, he was noted leaving the Clippers’ downtown stadium in the second quarter. .
ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk reports that Leonard went home to rest and then sat awkwardly in the sand.
According to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said Leonard has recently had back issues and is yet unable to play against the Wolves.
“Yes, she’s been taking care of him for a few days. Back spasms and. . . I didn’t know if it was going to happen this morning,” Lue said. “But he came here to shoot, they gave him treatment, he did what he had to do and tried to get in the box and play today, but it wasn’t to be. “
Lue said after the game that he wasn’t sure if Leonard would be with the team Wednesday for Thursday’s game in Chicago (8 ET, NBA League Pass). Four of the Clippers’ next five games will be on the road and seven of the remaining ten games this month will be away from Crypto. com Arena.
It’s been a remarkably healthy season for Leonard, as he’s played 58 games (his most since he played 57 in 2019-20) and is averaging 23. 7 points, 6. 2 rebounds, 3. 7 assists and 1. 7 steals per game. Prior to this season, Leonard had missed 147 of 308 games imaginable since joining Clipconsistent with in 2019. He didn’t play at all in the 2021-22 season after suffering a torn ACL in the 2021 playoffs.
LA (41-23) is at the center of the race for the No. 1 spot in the Western Conference, the Oklahoma City Thunder (45-20), seeded after 3 1/2 games, and the Timberwolves, seeded No. 3 (45-21) in half a game. The Clippers are 5-6 since the All-Star break, with a 4-0 record against record-record losing teams and 1-6 against over-Array500 teams.
The Clippers’ loss Sunday to the Bucks is the first time this season without Leonard and fellow Canadian Paul George, who missed six of 63 games. They played 12 games (and finished 3-9) without their two All-Stars last season and the 1,362 minutes they played in combination this season is already 334 more than they had played in one of their last four seasons combined.
Information from The Associated Press and John Schuhmann of NBA. com used in this report.
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