Subscribe
Follow Us
Sixers phenom Ben Simmons had high praise for Kawhi Leonard's defensive prowess following Tuesday night's 129-112 loss to the Toronto Raptors.
Leonard led the Raptors in scoring against the Sixers on Tuesday night. In 34 minutes of action, the former San Diego State Aztec racked up 31 points on 10-of-19 shooting (2-of-5 from beyond the arc), seven rebounds and four assists.
31 points is a solid outing, to be sure. However, Leonard was also active on the defensive end of the floor, as he often is. When the final horn blew, ‘The Claw,' as he's come to be known, had recorded four steals.
Simmons tallied 11 points and 10 rebounds against the Raptors, but he also turned the ball over 11 times. According to ESPN, he is now the seventh different player to finish with 11 turnovers in the last five years (James Harden, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Emmanuel Mudiay, John Wall, and Derrick Rose). As a team, the Raptors forced Philly into a season-worst 23 turnovers.
Article Continues Below“It's frustrating, but then you see how elite (Kawhi) is as a defender,” Simmons told ESPN after Tuesday's game.
Asked Ben Simmons how disruptive Kawhi is on the defensive end after his 1st career matchup with him. "He's a freak. Huge hands, long arms." Said he can learn from matching up with him tonight
— Joseph Casciaro (@JosephCasciaro) October 31, 2018
Raptors head coach Nick Nurse commented on Leonard's defensive play during his post-game media availability.
“It's just his natural instinct for getting his hands on stuff,” coach Nurse told ESPN. “The ball is popping around and boom, he comes out of there with it.”
Leonard and the Raptors will be back in action on Friday night, when they'll travel to Phoenix for a match-up against the Suns. Tip-off inside Talking Stick Resort Arena is set for 10:00 p.m. EST.
