Category: Basketball

They all realize what’s at stake and that having a healthy Kawhi Leonard gives the Clippers their best chance to win now when it matters so much in the jumbled Western Conference.

So on Saturday when Leonard played in back-to-back games for the first time in more than a year, it was clear how significant this game against the Dallas Mavericks was to the Clippers.

When Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said “we’re fighting for our lives” and that “right now we need all hands on deck,” it was clear that they were doing all in their power to stay alive for the sixth seed in the West, the automatic playoff spot, and avoid the NBA’s play-in tournament.

The Clippers are still in the hunt for a top-six spot because their big three of Leonard, James Harden and Ivica Zubac were the forces during their 135-104 win over the Mavericks at the Intuit Dome.

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For Leonard to reach this point, the medical staff had to approve him playing in back-to-back games. He had 29 points and six rebounds in 25 minutes.

“Everything has been going well,” he said. “So we had discussions and we all thought it was a good time to play.

“Like I said, it was just about listening to them, about their scenarios, how they calculate things. And then just me listening and not trying to be a superhero and just trying to stay healthy, really. That’s my No. 1 goal, like I always said, for this year is coming out of this season healthy.”

Harden had a double-double with 29 points and 14 assists as the Clippers won their fourth straight game.

Zubac had his career-high 11th consecutive double-double with 25 points and 10 rebounds, which gave him 4,238 boards as a Clipper and pushed him past Bob McAdoo for sole possession of fifth place on the franchise's all-time list. Zubac was 11 for 11 from the field while making all three of his free throws.

“Those three guys were really good tonight,” Lue said. “Just having a professional win to come out the second night of a back-to-back and play the way we did was pretty impressive.”

Anthony Davis led the Mavericks with 29 points and nine rebounds.

The Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Memphis Grizzlies have identical records at 46-32, all of them a half-game behind fifth-seeded Golden State in the West. Minnesota is the sixth seed, the Clippers seventh and the Grizzlies eighth based on tiebreaks.

Leonard missed the first 34 games while recovering from a right knee injury. He played his first game Jan. 4 and had not played back-to-back contests since March 25, 2024.

“He’s been trying to play in them, but we were just making sure we did the right thing and were smart about it,” Lue said. “So, the time is here.”

Since Leonard played just 24 minutes Friday night against the Mavericks, he was well rested and had not put a lot of stress on his body. That made the decision much easier.

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“He’s a bad dude on the court, both sides of the floor,” Zubac said. “And I was happy to see him play back to back. It’s been a long journey for him, but he worked his tail off."

The Clippers have two days off before they host San Antonio on Tuesday night. The Clippers' last home game is Wednesday night against the Houston Rockets in another back-to-back set.

“We’ll see when that time comes,” Leonard said about playing. “I’m about to focus on this win tonight and get some treatment and see how it goes the next few days.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.