Kawhi Leonard reintroduces himself on the playoff stage as Clipper win Game 2

DENVER -- It has been two years since Kawhi Leonard averaged 34.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 6.0 assists in 2 games versus the Suns in the 2023 Western Conference First Round. Sure, he did play in a few games in the 2024 playoffs, but he was clearly hobbled and not even close to 100% healthy. 

Fast forward to this point, and Leonard looks as good as he ever has in the playoffs, leading the Clippers to a gritty 105-102 victory over the Denver Nuggets to even the series up at 1-1. 

Leonard had an incredible 39 points on 15-for-19 shooting and only one turnover compared to his seven in Game 1. 

In the first quarter, it seemed as if the Clippers were going to have a repeat of their second half performance in Game 1, with sloppy turnovers and missed defensive assignments. 

The Nuggets took full advantage of that and grew a lead early. However, the Clippers stayed close because of Leonard, who had 21 points in the first half while missing only a single shot. 

Norm Powell was off, the bench could not get going, and James Harden was having an off night. All recipes for disaster right? Wrong. 

The Clippers just kept chipping away and thwarting every Nuggets run thrown their way, eventually leading to a double-teamed three pointer by Kawhi to give the Clippers a three point advantage going into the half. 

Then, the third quarter was a back and forth battle. Nikola Jokic was held to single digits across the board in the first half, but ended with another triple-double at 26 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. 

Jamal Murray who torched the Clippers in Game 1, played well despite being under the weather, notching 23 points on 4-for-8 from beyond the arc. 

Those two, combined with another good Russell Westbrook game, who had 14 points on 3-for-6 from three himself, gave the Nuggets a huge jolt.

Aaron Gordon was held to 14 points compared to his 25 in the first game, but Michael Porter Jr. was fantastic. He scored 15 points but had a huge 15 rebounds and was active on the boards all night. 

Norm Powell and Jamal Murray got into a heated discussion after Murray lifted Powell off the ground, which drew technical fouls from multiple players in the third quarter.

That is when the Clippers made a few runs. Ben Simmons provided quality minutes at the backup center spot, finding Kris Dunn in transition, while also playing physical defense. 

The Clippers went up by as much as 6 in the frame, but Denver came back to cut it to two at 78-76 going into the final frame. 

A clutch steal by Bogdan Bogdanovic on Westbrook which led to a Derrick Jones Jr. dunk gave the Clippers a three-point lead and then came clutch time minutes. 

Kawhi was 12-for-13 after a step back three extended the lead to 6 late in the 4th quarter.

Then, after a Denver run, it was the former Raptors' NBA Champions that closed the game out. Excellent defense by Dunn yet again created a turnover which led to an immediate clutch three-pointer by Norm Powell to give the Clippers a three-point lead with 1:30 left. 

Everyone knew where the ball was going after Denver pulled within one point: Kawhi. Leonard rose over Aaron Gordon and put in his 39th point of the game to give the Clippers a three-point lead for good. 

Two Denver misses at the buzzer lifted the Clippers to a win and a series tie. 

Now, the team will get two days off before heading back home to Intuit Dome for the first playoff game in the new arena's history.

Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. PT on Thursday.