Kawhi Leonard did not have an amicable exit with his former team San Antonio Spurs, but he still holds coach Gregg Popovich in high regard.
For the first time in a Los Angeles Clippers uniform, the reigning Finals MVP faced the franchise that drafted him 15th overall in the 2011 NBA Draft.
He tormented the Spurs on Thursday night, scoring a game-high 38 points to go along with 12 boards en route to a 103-97 win for the Clips – giving San Antonio its first taste of defeat after a 3-0 start.
Leonard was quick to give credit to his old mentor post game, claiming that “they played they butts off tonight.”
"Coach Pop's great, and they played they butts off tonight."
—Kawhi talking about his former team after getting the W pic.twitter.com/5uPXsGVn7B
— ESPN (@espn) November 1, 2019
“The Klaw” sat out the Clippers’ last game against the Utah Jazz due to load management. He appeared invigorated after the brief rest and did most of his damage against the Spurs in the second half.
Leonard is averaging 27 points on 51.9 percent shooting through four games. He is putting up big numbers across the board, average 6.5 rebounds, 7.5 assists. 1.8 steals and 1.2 blocks per conteest.
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