The San Antonio Spurs posted a very gutsy performance on Tuesday night to win Game 5 of their second-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets. Even with Manu Ginobili‘s vintage game, what turned out to be the biggest story of the night was the ankle injury Kawhi Leonard suffered.
It was early in the fourth quarter when the 25-year-old San Diego State product accidentally stepped on the foot of James Harden, which caused the tweak. It wasn't thought of as a serious injury until Gregg Popovich was forced to sit his star player in the final three minutes of regulation and the entire overtime period.
Leonard was then seen limping off the court after the game which raises the concern of their fans.
The #InsideTheNBA team breaks down the potential impact of Kawhi Leonard's Game 5 injury pic.twitter.com/DTK0D4RbP7
— TurnerSportsPR (@TurnerSportsPR) May 10, 2017
Kawhi Leonard visibly limping walking to the locker room #spurs #gospursgo #HOUatSAS @cjzero pic.twitter.com/GjCZh2kkvT
— Jordan Tomiyama (@Jttomiyama) May 10, 2017
The veteran head coach explained his decision to sit him out in the late stages of the match, saying it was “obvious” Leonard couldn't play through it.
Gregg Popovich says he doesn't know Kawhi Leonard's status moving forward. Says it was obvious he couldn't go in overtime.
— Chris Mannix (@ChrisMannixYS) May 10, 2017
This is definitely a cause for concern for the San Antonio faithful, especially with the series heading once again to Houston for Game 6. If there's any good news for them at this point, they will have a day off to have their team trainers and doctors give The Klaw treatment on his ankle to prepare him for the crucial matchup on Thursday night.
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