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Kawhi Leonard credits Clippers for fighting after tough win vs. Rockets
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- Kawhi Leonard credits Clippers for fighting after tough win vs. Rockets
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Kawhi Leonard does not usually say much, but after a gritty 105-102 victory over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night, his message was loud and clear. The Los Angeles Clippers star carried his team across the finish line at Toyota Center, erasing the bad taste of a loss to the same Rockets squad just twenty-four hours earlier.
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The game felt like a grind for the majority of the night, with Los Angeles struggling to find a rhythm offensively. However, Leonard took matters into his own hands when it counted most, exploding for 19 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter alone.
He capped off the night with a signature fadeaway jumper while being fouled with just two seconds remaining, converting the three-point play to seal the win. Along with his scoring outburst, Leonard hauled in 12 rebounds, extending his career-best streak of 20-point games to 33.
After the game, the two-time Finals MVP pointed to the team's resilience as the deciding factor. "Just keep fighting, we kept fighting all night, we didn't give up. We thought we could win this basketball game. We didn't play good basketball yesterday, and really not today, so we just wanted to play better basketball, and we did that in the 4th quarter."
The Rockets did not make it easy, led by 21 points from Kevin Durant and a spark off the bench from rookie Reed Sheppard , who finished with 17. Alperen Sengun also played a massive role, scoring a late layup and a clutch free throw to tie the game at 102 with seven seconds left. Despite the pressure, Leonard stayed composed, grabbed the rebound on Sengun's missed second free throw, and called the timeout that set up his heroics.
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With the win, the Clippers head into the All-Star break with a much-needed boost of momentum.
Related: Clippers' Kawhi Leonard sinks tough jumper with 2 seconds left to down Rockets
