Why Kawhi Leonard, Darius Garland were not happy despite making NBA history vs. Knicks

The LA Clippers have been one of the league’s best teams since December 20th, but Kawhi Leonard and Darius Garland are still satisfied with a month still remaining in the NBA’s 2025-26 regular season.

After starting the season 6-21, the Clippers have surged back and have gone 26-11 to reach .500 for the first time since the early portions of the season. The Clippers reached a record of 32-32 on Monday night with a win over the New York Knicks, reclaiming the eighth seed in the Western Conference from the Golden State Warriors.

But Kawhi Leonard was not ready to celebrate anything yet.

“It’s cool, you know, but the job ain’t done,” Kawhi Leonard admitted after the game. “The season’s not over. It’s what’s expected. Like I told the fellas, you don’t train to lose, you train you win, so yeah, it’s alright.”

Kawhi Leonard scored 29 points in the Clippers’ win over the Knicks, adding in seven rebounds, eight assists, and two steals while shooting 10-of-19 from the field in 35 minutes of play.

Leonard had a conversation with a number of Clippers players after the game about the importance of maintaining their focus on the remainder of this regular season.

“We just talked about it, a few players,” Leonard added. “Today, when I heard we were .500. Like I said, job is not done, we still got games to play, so it’s nothing to be happy about.”

In just his fourth game with the Clippers since returning from a foot injury, Darius Garland had a strong game as he works his way through the minutes restriction he’s dealing with. Garland poured in 23 points with seven assists and two steals in 30 minutes of play, knocking down five three-pointers in the process.

He echoed Kawhi Leonard’s sentiments after the game, saying there’s much more work to be done.

“I came to just win games,” Darius Garland said after the win over the Knicks. “That’s what we do, put in work in the offseason to win games so it’s exciting to be back to .500, but we’ve got a lot more ways to go. We’re not done yet.

“[Being .500] just a number. Like I said before, we’re not done yet. Still got a lot of games left to go, and hopefully we’ll win a couple of those so keep pushing, keep working about ourselves, don’t worry about anybody else. We’ve got to get better as a team, especially with our new guys getting acclimated and everything like that, so yeah we’re just worried about the Clippers over here.”

Head coach Tyronn Lue did acknowledge that reaching .500 after being 15 games below it and seemingly in deep trouble is a feat in itself.

“It means a lot,” head coach Tyronn Lue explained. “Just about our guys in the locker room staying with it, continuing to fight, continuing to compete. We thought we should’ve been better and could’ve been better. Injuries hurt us, but this team, ever since I’ve been here for six years, our guys always continue to keep fighting when our backs are against the wall.”

“I credit my coaching staff just doing a great job staying with it, being positive, continuing to help these guys get better. to start 6-21 and to be .500 right now is a big thing for us.”

The Clippers still have an uphill battle to face as they try to continue their climb up the Western Conference standings. As of Tuesday night, the Clippers are the eighth seed despite having the same 32-32 record as the Golden State Warriors because they currently lead the season series 2-1 with one game remaining on the final night of the regular season.

The Phoenix Suns are five games up on the Clippers, and have continued to play well despite missing players like Devin Booker, Dillon Brooks, Grayson Allen, and Mark Williams throughout the year.

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