Leonard Leads Clippers to Win Over Nuggets

‘The Claw’ came out and put on an epic show.

For the first two games of this series, Kawhi Leonard put his extensive history of injuries behind him and into the rear-view mirror, dominating the Denver Nuggets with 39 points on 15-19 shooting, to lead a Los Angeles Clippers victory and tie their first-round playoff series at 1-1.

Leonard scored 21 points in the first half and put up another 12 in the fourth quarter of the 105-102-win Monday on the road in Denver. Clippers guard James Harden added 18 points and seven assists. Center Ivica Zubac had a monster double-double with 16 points, 12 rebounds and four assists.

“Luck hasn’t been on his side or whatever case you might call it,” Harden told reporters, when asked about Leonard’s battles with injuries.

“But he loves to hoop. And as you see, when he’s on the court, he’s a killer. So I’m glad he’s in a good space right now.”

Chronic knee issues all but derailed the 33-year-old forward over the last several seasons. He played in just 37 games during the 2024-25 regular season. He also missed the Clippers’ final three games last postseason due to knee inflammation.

“I sat and watched these playoff games and series the past two years,” Leonard said. “So being able to be frontline out there, it just feels good for me no matter which way the game goes.”

The Clippers outscored the Nuggets 46-38 in the paint and 18-14 in fast break points. They also outshot the Nuggets 48.2% to 46.8%. However, the Nuggets destroyed the Clippers 50-32 on the glass, but totaled 20 turnovers, compared to just 11 for the visitors.

Game 2 of the best-of-seven series featured 18 lead changes and was tied 12 times. Nuggets center and MVP candidate Nikola Jokic did everything he could do, tallying a 26-point, 12-rebound, 10-assist triple-double in the loss.

The lead changed hands three times early on, but the Nuggets outscored the Clippers 9-4 over the final 8:29 of the first quarter to take a 31-25 lead into the second. Leonard went a perfect 5-of-five in his first quarter shot attempts and scored 12 points over the first 12 minutes.

The Clippers scored the first six points of the second quarter, tying the score at 31-31. They later went on an 8-0 run to take the lead and held a 55-52 edge at halftime.

Jokic scored 10 points in the third quarter, when the Nuggets outscored the Clippers by the slimmest of margins, 24-23. They took another lead on a Jokic triple eight seconds into the fourth. The Clippers answered with a 9-2 run for an 87-81 lead with just under ten minutes remaining, but the game would once again go down to the wire.

Nuggets guard Jamal Murray nailed a 3-pointer to tie the score at 100-100 with 2:07 remaining. Guard Norman Powell answered with another trey 37 seconds later and the Clippers never trailed again.

Jokic hit two free throws on the ensuing possession. Leonard proceeded to extend the lead with a pull-up jumper with 54 seconds remaining. Jokic and the fourth-seeded Nuggets then failed to make a basket on several possessions down the stretch.

Game 3 of the series will tip off at 10 p.m. ET Thursday in Los Angeles. The fifth-seeded Clippers will host Game 4 at 6 p.m. Saturday at Intuit Dome.

The winner of the series will meet the No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder or No. 8 Memphis Grizzlies in the Western Conference semifinals. The Thunder, who lead the Grizzlies 1-0 in that first-round series, will host Game 2 at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Paycom Center.