SPURS: Leonard able to snag pass for impressive alley-oop dunk
“I don’t know if he came out here tonight to show he’s more than just a defender. He put on a show. Kawhi was incredible.” TIM DUnCAn SPURS fORWARD, ON KAWHi LEONARD,WHO SCORED A CAREER-HiGH 32 POiNTS iN SAN ANTONiO’S 100-73 WiN OVER THE CLiPPERS AfTER BEiNG PRESENTED THE NBA DEfENSiVE PLAYER Of THE YEAR AWARD
a little behind Leonard as he swooped in on the right wing. Leonard reached behind his head with his huge right hand, snagged the ball and made the dunk with 2:28 left before halftime.
Boris Diaw supplied 15 points and six rebounds for the Spurs. Green scored 11, making three 3-pointers. Manu Ginobili led the Spurs in assists with six.
Spurs point guard Tony Parker returned to the lineup after leaving late in Game 2 with tightness in his right Achilles. Parker also has experienced problems with his left ankle and thigh. He scored six points, shooting 3 of 11.
The Clippers shot only 34.1 percent from the floor. Blake Griffin and Chris Paul had 14 and 10 points, respectively.
Paul hit 3 of 11 shots, mostly while guarded by Green.
“I thought he guarded the hell out of Chris,” Clippers coach Doc River said. “As well as I’ve seen maybe this year.”
Rivers said poor shooting seemed to frustrate the Clippers.
“We’ve had this a couple of times this year where we lose our spirit because we can’t make shots,” Rivers said. “Every time we missed a shot, we played less and less defense.”
Before the game, Rivers said the award Leonard received came “to our dismay,” laughing as he spoke. The Clippers, after all, had a candidate of their own, but DeAndre Jordan finished third.
But Rivers went on to explain one reason Leonard is so effective: Spurs coach Gregg Popovich rotates him on different players. Leonard guarded shooting guard J.J. Redick and sometimes Paul.
“What Pop has done an excellent job of is moving him around,” Rivers said. “He’s like Deion Sanders. You’re trying to find where the hell he’s at in the backfield. He keeps putting him on different guys.”
Leonard demonstrated his defensive prowess less than a minute after the alley-oop dunk. The NBA’s regular-season leader in steals deflected a pass by Redick and raced downcourt for a layup, assisted by Parker.
The Spurs led by eight at halftime, then Leonard scored 13 of the Spurs’ first 15 points in the third quarter.
“I thought Kawhi Leonard at the start of the third quarter changed the game,” Rivers said. “He was absolutely sensational. I think he was trying to tell all the voters he’s a player, not just a defensive player.”
Leonard was a power forward, an inside player, at San Diego State, but has worked hard to improve his perimeter skills with the Spurs.
“He comes in early,” Popovich said. “He stays late.”