Injured Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Los Angeles Clippers and Russell Westbrook #0 follow the action on the floor from the bench during the second half against the Phoenix Suns during Round 1 Game 4 of the 2023 NBA Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena on April 22, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images/AFP
Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard will miss Game 5 of Los Angeles’ first-round Western Conference playoff series at the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday due to a knee injury.
Leonard has already missed the past two games for the Clippers, who trail 3-1 in the best-of-seven series. Los Angeles will also be without fellow star forward Paul George, who is also dealing with a knee injury and has not played since March 21.
The injury is reminiscent of the one Leonard suffered back during the 2021 playoffs, which forced him to miss the Clippers’ final eight games. Los Angeles ended up getting eliminated by the Suns, and Leonard required surgery on his ACL that forced him to miss the entire 2021-22 campaign.
Marcus Morris, Eric Gordon and Norman Powell will likely take on larger roles once again to fill in for Leonard and George.
Leonard, 31, played the first two games of the series, averaging 34.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 6.0 assists while shooting 54.5 percent from the field and 60 percent from 3-point range. He scored 38 points in Game 1, when the Clippers picked up their only victory against Phoenix.
In 52 games (50 starts) during the regular season, Leonard averaged 23.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game.