INGLEWOOD — Seeing Clippers star Kawhi Leonard in the starting lineup isn’t unusual. But seeing the two-time NBA Finals MVP on the court on the second night of a back-to-back is rare, a phenomenon that hasn’t happened at all this season.
In fact, Leonard has not participated fully in a back-to-back series since the 2023-24 season when he appeared in 68 games.
But there he was Saturday, not just playing, but playing without the hesitation that might have accompanied him in the past. Leonard, 33, appeared fresh, not fatigued by the extra workload, coming up with 29 points and six rebounds on Saturday to help the Clippers roll over the Dallas Mavericks, 135-104, at the Intuit Dome.
Leonard connected on 12 of 19 shots and had three assists, three steals and one block in the Clippers’ second consecutive victory against the Mavericks.
Leonard, who played just 22 minutes in Friday’s game, has been wanting to test his twice surgically repaired knee in consecutive games but the Clippers’ medical staff has been reluctant to jeopardize his health heading into the playoffs.
The five-time All-Star missed the first 34 games of the season after having a procedure on his right knee during the offseason.
“Medical (staff) wanted to make sure he checked every box and to make sure they put him in the best position. We didn’t want to risk anything,” Coach Tyronn Lue said. “Kawhi had been trying to do it for some time now, playing it back-to-back, but the staff was cautious and making sure that everything was right. So, tonight is right, and so we’re going to go with it.”
The decision to play Leonard goes deeper than making a special appearance. The Clippers, who are locked in a battle for the sixth spot in the hotly contested Western Conference, need all the help they can find as the season heads into the playoffs.
Despite the victory, the Clippers (46-32) remained in seventh place, a half-game behind the Minnesota Timberwolves (46-32), who own the tiebreaker in their head-to-heads.
“There’s no back-to-backs in the playoffs, but we’re fighting for our lives, and so right now we need all hands-on deck,” Lue said of the decision to have Leonard play. “He’s been trying to play, but we had to just make sure we did the right thing and was smart about it.”
To safeguard their oft-injured star, Lue contained Leonard’s minutes to 25, but the Clippers didn’t need him to have a career night against the Mavericks. They had plenty of help in winning their fourth consecutive game despite the looming presence of Anthony Davis.
The Mavericks’ 6-10 power forward did not play Friday because of a sore left adductor but came up with a strong 27-point, nine-rebound effort on Saturday.
In six games with Dallas, Davis has averaged 19.5 points, 9.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists. While his numbers are down from when he was with the Lakers (25.7/11.9/7.4), he still poses problems for opposing defenses. He scored 16 points and had seven rebounds in the first 17 minutes of play.
Yet, the Clippers countered with big performances of their own from James Harden, who had 29 points (10-of-19 shooting), seven rebounds and 14 assists and Ivica Zubac, who posted his 55th double-double and a career-high 11 straight this season with 25 points, connecting on all 11 shots he took, and 10 rebounds.
The 7-footer also passed former great Bob McAdoo for fifth place on the Clippers’ all-time rebounds list with 4,239.
The Clippers got a brief scare when Norman Powell was knocked down by Mavs’ Max Christie with 51 seconds left in the second quarter. The guard lay on the court for several seconds before getting up stiffly and playing out the first half with the Clippers leading 61-52.
Powell ended with nine points and one rebound in 29 minutes.