Leonard shares his thoughts on the team's shooting after their dominant victory over the Sacramento Kings.
The Los Angeles Clippers were supposed to be fighting for playoff positioning this season, but they've spent most of it near the bottom of the Western Conference standings.
Despite their rough start, the Clippers have strung together some momentum, and their veteran star believes it all comes down to their shooting mentality.
Los Angeles ran their winning streak to a season-best five games on Tuesday night with a commanding 131-90 victory over the Sacramento Kings at Intuit Dome.
The Clippers now sit at 11-21 on the season, while the Kings fell to 8-25 after the loss.
Kawhi Leonard on the Clippers' Shot Making
After the blowout win over Sacramento, Kawhi Leonard spoke to the media about the team's recent success from beyond the arc.
"It's just the way the league is now. Three is better than a two at this point," Leonard said. "A lot of guys aren't really able to get a two-pointer off. Just focus on getting into the lane, but it's just playing the game. The more threes you shoot, the more you make. We want to make more."
Leonard certainly practiced what he preached against the Kings, knocking down 5-of-9 attempts from three-point range on his way to 33 points on 11-of-19 shooting overall. He also added five rebounds and five assists.
This came just two nights after he dropped a career-high 55 points against the Detroit Pistons.
A Complete Team Effort
While Leonard has been carrying much of the scoring load and averaging 37.8 points over the last five games, the Clippers got plenty of help against Sacramento.
James Harden contributed 21 points, while John Collins and rookie center Yanic Konan Niederhauser each chipped in 16 points.
The defense was equally impressive as Los Angeles forced 19 turnovers and turned those mistakes into 28 points while committing just four turnovers themselves.
Leonard scored 18 of his points during the second quarter alone, while the entire Kings roster managed only 20 in the same period, and the Clippers led 70-43 at halftime before cruising to their largest margin of victory this season.
Looking Ahead
Head coach Tyronn Lue has been vocal about the need to stack wins during what has been a tough season, and his team is finally listening.
For the Clippers, the path forward is to keep Leonard healthy and let him lead the charge.
If he can maintain this level of play, Los Angeles might just claw (no pun intended) their way back into the playoff picture when they host the Utah Jazz on Thursday.