Kawhi Leonard speaks out after career-high 55 point night

INGLEWOOD, CA — Kawhi Leonard continued his red-hot scoring streak and extended the LA Clippers win streak to four on Sunday night. Facing a Detroit Pistons that entered the contest as the best team in the Eastern Conference, Leonard willed his Clippers to another win behind a new career-high 55 points.

Leonard scored 25 points in the first half, and followed that up with a 26-point third quarter to hit 51 points with a whole quarter still remaining and the Clippers up 92-69.

“I just stayed hot in that third [quarter], Tyronn Lue ended up running me that extra four minutes,” Kawhi Leonard said after the win. “I don’t know what I had at the time, but him seeing I had the hot hand, kept me in, and then shots kept falling.”

Leonard returned late in the fourth quarter with the Pistons making a small run, scoring four points to tie James Harden’s franchise-tying 55 points and set a new personal career high.

The Clippers star finished 17-of-26 from the field, 5-of-10 from three, and 16-of-17 from the free throw line. His missed free throw ended a streak of 64 consecutive free throws made and would’ve given him the new franchise record.

“T-Lue told me about it, but I’d rather play another game than go out there and risk is [for the record],” Leonard said. “Hopefully we can get another win and be in the same situation, but it is what it is.

“It was exciting to play the game tonight. But it was most exciting to get the win. They kept coming down and making shots. Cade [Cunningham] was great down the stretch. It’s always a great honor to do something legendary.”

Kawhi Leonard earned Player of the Week honors on Monday afternoon for leading his Clippers team to a 3-0 week, averaging 41.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 2.7 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 58 percent from the field, 50 percent from three, and 97.1 percent from the free throw line.

Tyronn Lue said he continued to play Leonard beyond his usual rotational minutes in the third quarter once his star got hot from.

“We need it,” Lue explained. “We needed it. He’s been playing at a high level, and to have 55 tonight on 26 shots, attacking the basket, attacking the rim, steals, defensively I thought he was really good as well. He willed this game for us.”

The win gives the Clippers four consecutive wins against teams that have been playing some of the best basketball in the league. On the date of each game, the Clippers defeated the fourth seed Los Angeles Lakers, the sixth seed Houston Rockets, the 10th seed Portland Trail Blazers, and the first seed Detroit Pistons.

The Clippers continue their five-game homestand with a matchup against the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night.

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