Kawhi Leonard put the Los Angeles Clippers on his back and led them to a much-needed Game 2 victory over the Denver Nuggets in their first round playoff series. Leonard's performance was so incredible, James Harden said that all he could do was watch.

Leonard's performance was one for the history books, and another game that Harden doesn't believe his Clippers co-star gets enough credit for.

James Harden goes after Kawhi Leonard critics after historic Game 2 vs. Nuggets

Kawhi Leonard scored a game-high 39 points in Game 2 on a very efficient 15-of-19 shooting from the field. The Clippers' star shot 11-of-12 on two-pointers, 4-of-7 on three-pointers, and a perfect 6-of-6 in the painted area.

Game 1 saw Leonard score 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting, but he also turned the ball over seven times, the most he's ever done so in his NBA career.

“I think I made shots tonight, shot a little bit more than I did last game, but it wasn't about that,” Leonard explained his Game 2 performance. “Some of my turnovers last game was just being aggressive and trying to save the ball, getting rebounds, getting pushed out of bounds. The one that stuck out to me was obviously that one getting it tipped off my hip. It was great defense by them, so I just wanted to come out and get a win.”

After the game, however, it was Clippers teammate James Harden as well as Nuggets star Nikola Jokic who came out and gave Leonard his much-deserved flowers.

When asked if Leonard gets the proper appreciation from the general public about his ability to come back from injuries looking the same or better than before, Harden didn't hold back.

Nah. Nope. Nah. Not even a little bit,” James Harden immediately remarked. “It’s always negative. It’s always what he’s been through and what he’s not able to do just because of something that he can’t control. Like, but we don’t appreciate how great he is when he’s actually out there and putting on performances like this tonight.

“I feel like that about everybody that's in the league that goes through something that's out of their hands or that they can’t control. It’s always the negative, it's always the hate that people wanna talk about, which is something we've that got to live with, I guess, in this world. But as for me being closer to him, and every single day seeing the work he puts in, you appreciate him.”

Throughout his time with the LA Clippers, Kawhi Leonard has had to deal with a torn ACL in June 2021, a torn meniscus in April 2023, and knee inflammation that was followed by an offseason procedure in April 2024.

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Despite the repeated injuries that are, frankly, out of his control, Leonard continued to push through rehabs in order to play basketball and help his team when they need him most.

Monday's performance was a perfect reminder for the world exactly what Leonard is capable of when not affected by circumstances outside of his control.

“I think that he had a night,” Nuggets star Nikola Jokic added after Game 2. “It's really hard, maybe we should make him feel more crowded, but I think he's so used to it. He did make tough shots, but are they really tough shots for him, the guy who is making those for such a long period of time. So maybe we just need to do a little bit more different, make him hesitate a little bit more.”

When told about what Harden had to say about him, Leonard showed his appreciation for his NBA brothers.

“It's great [to hear],” Kawhi Leonard said. “Like you said, anybody in the business that's playing knows how hard it is to either come back from an injury or even playing in the NBA. They understand what we all go through, what I go through, and yeah. To see that from your peers and to hear that from them, it's great. i've told several people before, thanks for helping me through stuff and time with injuries.”

Leonard's Game 2 performance was one for the history books. According Stathead, Leonard joined Dirk Nowitzki, Devin Booker, Terry Porter, and Elton Brand as the only players in NBA history to score 39 points in an NBA playoff game while shooting 78 percent or better from the field.

Leonard also became the third player to record four playoff games of at least 30 points on 75 percent shooting or better, joining Shaquille O'Neal and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

“I just keep playing, try to stay in the zone,” Kawhi Leonard said of his hot shooting night. “No matter if I’m missing or making shots, I’m trying to go to the next play and that’s it. Just focused on the next play and trying to win, get to my spot and shoot. Just live with the outcome, no matter what game it is, no matter how good or bad it’s going.”

Games 3 and 4 between the LA Clippers and Denver Nuggets will now shift to Los Angeles in the state of the art Intuit Dome. Thursday's Game 3 is scheduled for a 7PM PST tipoff while Saturday's Game 4 will tip off at 3PM PST.