Kawhi Leonard: LA Clippers Will Celebrate Series Win Over Dallas Mavericks
Judging from his on-court demeanor and postseason success, most people wouldn't expect Kawhi Leonard to be someone that would put a lot of stock into a first-round victory.
Those people, however, would be wrong.
After the LA Clippers eliminated the Dallas Mavericks in Game 6 on Sunday, Leonard spoke to the media about the importance of celebrating after a big win, even if there's still plenty more to achieve:
"You always celebrate," Leonard said. "I mean, you could be going home right now. It's one step closer to where we want to get to, so it's a good accomplishment that we got through the first round. Now, we enjoy it tonight, and we get ready for the next thing tomorrow... You always want to enjoy a win. You never want to take that away."
Given the Clippers' title aspirations, it's easy to lose sight of what this team just achieved. Not only did LA eliminate the team with the highest offensive efficiency rating in the history of the NBA, but the Clippers earned their first trip to the second round of the playoffs since 2015 and first playoff series victory in less than seven games since 2006.
Leonard, of course, was a big reason for that. The two-time Finals MVP was terrific in each of LA's six games, averaging 32.8 points, 10.2 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 2.3 steals per game on 53.8% shooting from the floor.
His best performance in the first round came on Sunday, when he collected 33 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists and five steals — becoming the first player to do so in a playoff game since Michael Jordan achieved the feat in 1989.
So even though the Clippers were expected to come out of the first round of the playoffs, it doesn't mean we shouldn't credit them for doing so — or that they shouldn't credit themselves. It was a hard-fought series that, at times, looked like it could've gone either way.
Hopefully LA will have some more celebrating to do after the second round, where the team will face either the Utah Jazz or Denver Nuggets.
