San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard missed Game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Houston Rockets due to a left ankle sprain sustained during Game 5 a few days earlier. While it kept him of Game 6, it didn't keep the Spurs from giving the Rockets a good old-fashioned beatdown at home, winning 114-75 and leading by 42 points at one point (again, without Leonard!).
The extra days off allowed Leonard to prepare for the Western Conference Finals against the Golden State Warriors, and he got off to a great start helping his team to a 25-point lead. Unfortunately, Leonard injured that same ankle stepping back towards his bench after a made three-pointer from the corner. He was able to walk it off after a minute on the sideline and get back out onto the court.
Upon his return however, he immediately injured his ankle on a three-point attempt from the same exact spot. This time, however, it happened when he landed on a contesting Zaza Pachulia‘s foot. While it seemed like nothing more than a foul for coming under a shooter on his jumpshot, Twitter exploded as it looked like Pachulia intentionally took an extra step towards Leonard's left foot.
Likely to be plenty of postgame chatter about Zaza sliding under Kawhi, especially if Warriors win pic.twitter.com/ygSdG01UAq
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) May 14, 2017
Pachulia is sure to take some heat for this play after the game, but it took the MVP candidate out of the game. Following his injury, the Warriors ran off 18 straight points to trim the 25-point deficit and Leonard was ruled out for the remainder of the game.
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