Leonard's dominant performance was cut short by a sudden ankle issue.
The Los Angeles Clippers fell short against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night in a 125-122 loss, but the final score was not the biggest story.
With just under five minutes left in the fourth quarter and the Clippers trailing by three, Kawhi Leonard walked over to head coach Ty Lue during a timeout, had a brief conversation, and then headed straight to the locker room after being ruled out with left ankle soreness.
After the game, Lue kept it simple when addressing Leonard's early exit and told reporters, "Kawhi's been dealing with some left ankle soreness, so it got stiff on him. Um so we got him out."
Leonard Was Dominant Before Leaving
Before the ankle stiffness forced him out, Leonard was having one of his best games of the season and finished with 31 points on 11-of-19 shooting from the field, including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc, to go along with four rebounds and five assists in 31 minutes.
The 31 points extended his streak of consecutive games with at least 20 points to 35, which is the longest active streak in the NBA and the longest in Los Angeles Clippers franchise history.
He was going toe-to-toe with Luka Doncic, who led the Lakers with 38 points and 11 assists on 8-of-14 from three, and Leonard was more than holding his own until the ankle started to bother him.
The Clippers nearly pulled off the comeback anyway, stealing an inbounds pass in the final seconds and getting the ball to Nicolas Batum for an open three that would have tied the game.
However, the shot did not fall, and LeBron James grabbed the rebound to seal it.
This Is Not the Same Ankle Injury
The good news for Clippers fans is that this is not the same ankle that kept Leonard out earlier in the season, as he missed 10 games in November with a right ankle sprain that had the fanbase worried about another long absence, while this current issue is on the left side and is something Lue described as soreness Leonard had been managing heading into the game.
The fact that Leonard did not appear to be in serious pain when he walked off the court, with ESPN's broadcast team even noting that he was not limping.
This is another reason to think this was more about being cautious than dealing with anything major.
Leonard has played in 43 of the Clippers' 56 games this season and had appeared in 12 straight before Friday, so the team was likely just protecting their star rather than risking something worse in a game that was already slipping away.
What Comes Next for the Clippers
The loss drops the Clippers to 27-29 on the season and keeps them in the play-in picture in the Western Conference, while the Lakers improve to 34-21 and continue to hold down a top-six spot.
The Clippers have the day off on Saturday before hosting the Orlando Magic on Sunday, and Leonard's name on the injury report for that game will tell fans a lot about where things stand.
Given everything this team has been through this season, from a 6-21 start to trading James Harden and Ivica Zubac at the deadline, losing Leonard for any length of time would be a huge blow to a group that has fought its way back into the picture.
Leonard is averaging a career-high 27.8 points per game this season on 49.2 percent shooting, and the Clippers are a completely different team when he is on the floor compared to when he is not.
For now, Lue's words after the game should bring some comfort because everything points to this being a minor situation that the coaching staff handled the right way by sitting their franchise player with the bigger picture in mind.