Leonard's focus remains the same even through a rough patch.
The Los Angeles Clippers are in a rough spot right now, and Kawhi Leonard seems like he knows it.
After dropping a 118-99 decision to the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night at Intuit Dome, Leonard spoke about what the final stretch of the regular season means for a team trying to carry momentum into the postseason.
"I mean hopefully that energy could roll over into a postseason rather than going the opposite way of dreading us or getting us tired or physically or mentally," Leonard said. "So yeah I mean over the past few months we've been kind of coming in playing single elimination pretty much mentality. So, yeah, like I said, hopefully it could carry on in a positive note."
Leonard has backed up that mentality all season.
The two-time Finals MVP is averaging 28.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists on 50.3 percent shooting this year, and he did his part against the Spurs with 24 points, six rebounds and five assists.
But the rest of the roster could not keep up, and the fourth quarter got away from them when San Antonio went on a 21-5 run that sealed the game.
A Brutal Home Stand
The loss to the Spurs was the second straight defeat at Intuit Dome for Los Angeles, who also fell 114-104 to the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday.
That Portland loss snapped a five-game winning streak and started this slide at the worst possible time.
The Clippers are now 39-39 on the season and have dropped from the eighth seed down to ninth in the Western Conference, which means they would need to win two games in the Play-In Tournament instead of one just to reach the first round.
And what makes Thursday's result even more frustrating is that De'Aaron Fox and the Spurs did it without Victor Wembanyama, who sat out with ankle injury management.
Fox led San Antonio with 22 points, eight rebounds and five assists while Stephon Castle added 20, and the Spurs shot 53 percent from the floor.
San Antonio improved to 59-18 and extended their winning streak to 11 games, looking every bit like a title contender.
The Bigger Picture for the Clippers
The two-game skid has exposed some real concerns for Los Angeles beyond just the standings.
The Clippers went 5-for-27 from three against the Spurs, and Tyronn Lue pointed to a lack of pace and rhythm on offense as the biggest issue.
San Antonio's defense pressured ball handlers as soon as they crossed halfcourt and threw double teams all night, and the Clippers simply could not adjust fast enough.
Leonard has been the engine that drives everything for this team ever since the front office moved James Harden and Ivica Zubac at the deadline.
The roster around him is younger and still figuring things out, with Darius Garland and Bennedict Mathurin taking on bigger roles while the team adjusts to life without a true center.
That learning curve has been manageable during winning stretches, but nights like Thursday show how thin the margin is.
The schedule does not get much easier.
The Clippers visit Sacramento on Sunday before hosting Dallas and then closing with matchups against Portland and Golden State.
Leonard's mindset of treating every game like an elimination scenario is the right approach for a team in this position, but it only works if the rest of the group matches that urgency.
Right now, the Clippers are running out of time to figure it out.