{"id":4271111,"date":"2024-04-24T08:00:34","date_gmt":"2024-04-24T15:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271111///wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271111//www.sbsun.com/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271111//?p=4271111&preview=true&preview_id=4271111"},"modified":"2024-04-24T08:14:09","modified_gmt":"2024-04-24T15:14:09","slug":"swanson-kawhi-leonards-return-sparks-hope-even-in-clippers-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271111///wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271111//www.sbsun.com/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271111//2024/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271111//04/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271111//24/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271111//swanson-kawhi-leonards-return-sparks-hope-even-in-clippers-loss/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271111//","title":{"rendered":"Swanson: Kawhi Leonard/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271111/u2019s return sparks hope, even in Clippers/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271111/u2019 loss"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES /wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271111/u2014 Leave it to Tyronn Lue to sit at a podium wearing a smug little grin after a playoff loss./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271111/n

What, Lue worry? Not three years ago, when the Clippers were down 2-0 after consecutive home losses in a first-round playoff series against these Dallas Mavericks. And certainly not now, with this first-round series tied 1-1 heading to Dallas for Games 3 and 4 on Friday and Sunday./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271111/n

No sir, as Lue would say. He/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271111/u2019s not sweating Tuesday night/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271111/u2019s 96-93 loss at Crypto.com Arena. He/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271111/u2019s not fretting about the Clippers/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271111/u2019 rugged 36.8% shooting effort, including an 8-for-30 night from 3-point range that only a playoff game could justify./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271111/n

Lue could shrug it off because he got to bring his rock star to Tuesday/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271111/u2019s rock fight./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271111/n

And that rocked./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271111/n

And even though Kawhi Leonard wasn/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271111/u2019t great after right knee inflammation caused him to spend 23 days recovering without basketball action, he was OK./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271111/n

And OK is great./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271111/n

Losing a winnable game at home in a seven-game playoff series against a tough opponent might seem solely like a step backward, but having Leonard in the lineup again was also a giant step forward for the fourth-seeded Clippers./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271111/n

A boon to their chances of winning a championship /wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271111/u2013 and, more immediately, of effectively dueling with Luka Doncic and his fifth-seeded Dallas Mavericks, who got 32 points and nine assists from their leading man./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271111/n

The Clippers could counter Dallas/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271111/u2019 demonstrative king of the court with their deliberate king, who torched the Mavs in their wild seven-game series in 2021, averaging 32.1 points on 61.2% shooting./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271111/n

So while Doncic offered his usual running commentary Tuesday, chatter directed at officials and teammates, opponents and fans, Leonard spoke sparingly, emoted rarely, and tallied 15 points on 7-for-17 shooting /wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271111/u2013 taking more attempts than anyone else on his team./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271111/n

That went with seven rebounds and four steals from the quick-mitted star, whose instincts were on point, even as he got winded and fought to find his rhythm./wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271111/n

/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271111/n

Kawhi Leonard getting introduced to a fully packed Clippers postseason crowd for the first time in Los Angeles. pic.twitter.com/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271111//VODzy5SFDO/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271111/n

— Justin Russo (@FlyByKnite) April 24, 2024/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/4271111/n