The Los Angeles Clippers will continue to hold out star Kawhi Leonard for at least one leg of back-to-backs. T

he team announced early Sunday that they would be holding the reigning NBA Finals MVP out of its contest versus the New York Knicks due to knee maintenance.

Via Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports:

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The move isn't an entirely surprising one. Leonard has not played in both ends of a back-to-back since the end of the 2016-17 season while he was still a member of the San Antonio Spurs. Los Angeles has little incentive to force Leonard to suit up. The team enters play Sunday with a 25-12 record and in possession of the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference.

Where things could get dicey for the Clippers is looking at the rest of their injury report. With Patrick Beverley already out of the mix, Paul George has his status up in the air as well. Even with Leonard available Saturday, Los Angeles was throttled by 26 points by Memphis.

The Knicks, who are in the midst of a West Coast swing, had won three in a row before a defeat in Phoenix on Friday. The game was supposed to be the team's first crack at the new-look Clippers.

With four days off before the team takes the floor again, Leonard will have ample time to rest. There is little reason to believe that he won't be able to suit up Friday to take on the Golden State Warriors.