You know when you have a group project in school but you can't get things done and the deadline is fast approaching and you don't want to get embarrassed in front of everyone so your groupmate who's usually reserved finally decides to take over and finish everything? That was Kawhi Leonard on Sunday.
With all the marbles on the line in Game 7 against the Dallas Mavericks, Kawhi placed the entire Los Angeles Clippers on his shoulders once again en route to a 126-111 victory.
The Klaw, who has yet to be ousted in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, finished with a near triple-double of 28 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists. He also had four steals, a block, and shot 10-of-15 from the field. Kawhi played over 42 minutes as Clippers coach Tyronn Lue didn't want to take any chances against Luka Doncic and the hard-fighting Mavericks.
After the game, Clippers guard Reggie Jackson lauded Kawhi's mindset heading into the do-or-die affair, revealing the two-time Finals MVP was totally locked in (via ESPN).
“Kawhi came with the mentality that he's going to take this game. He wasn't going to be shy about his play at all. Once he got going early, defenses had to change.”
Kawhi's sterling performance was a virtuosic follow-up to his Game 6 masterpiece, where he tied his NBA Playoffs career-high of 45 points to save the Clippers from elimination. On Sunday, he saved them again.
It's almost impossible to imagine Kawhi Leonard get bounced in the opening round. With his killer mentality, their group project will always get done.
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