{"id":654580,"date":"2026-03-12T15:21:24","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T15:21:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/654580\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T15:21:24","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T15:21:24","slug":"kawhi-leonard-sends-three-word-message-amid-clippers-historic-run","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/654580\/","title":{"rendered":"Kawhi Leonard Sends Three-Word Message Amid Clippers\u2019 Historic Run"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kawhi Leonard<\/a> delivered a simple message after the Los Angeles Clippers<\/a> reached one of the most unlikely milestones in NBA history: \u201cJob\u2019s not finished.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two-time Finals MVP scored 45 points in just 32 minutes Wednesday night to lead the Clippers to a 153-128 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves<\/a>, pushing Los Angeles to 33-32 on the season, a historic feat given the harsh road taken to get there. After opening the year 6-21, the Clippers became the first team in NBA history to climb above .500 after falling at least 15 games below during the same season.<\/p>\n

The milestone could have sparked celebration in the locker room. Leonard, however, wasn\u2019t interested in framing the moment as an accomplishment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s cool,\u201d Leonard said after the game when asked about the team reaching the .500 mark. \u201cBut job ain\u2019t done. Season not over. It\u2019s what\u2019s expected. Like I told the fellas, we don\u2019t train to lose. We train to win. So yeah, it\u2019s alright. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe still got games to play. It\u2019s nothing to be happy about.\u201d<\/p>\n

MORE: Jazz Looking to Pursue Lakers Star Austin Reaves in Free Agency<\/a><\/p>\n

Kawhi Leonard Leads Clippers\u2019 Historic Turnaround<\/p>\n

The Clippers\u2019 season once appeared over before it truly began. The team endured a disastrous 6\u201321 start, including a brutal November stretch in which they lost 13 of 15 games. Locker-room tension, roster adjustments and injuries, including Bradley Beal\u2019s season-ending hip injury, only added to the chaos.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The turning point arrived December 20, when the Clippers defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 103\u201388. From that moment forward, the trajectory of the season shifted. In January, Los Angeles ripped off a 16-3 stretch, climbing from 6-21 to 22-24 and becoming the first team in league history to reach .500 within two games after starting 6-21 or worse.<\/p>\n

Since then, Leonard looked increasingly like the dominant two-way superstar who led championship runs in Toronto and San Antonio.<\/p>\n

Against Minnesota, the forward produced one of the most efficient nights of his career finishing with 45 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals while knocking down six three pointers and shooting 15-of-20 from the field. <\/p>\n

The performance also made Leonard the first player in Clippers franchise history to record 45+ points, 5+ rebounds, 5+ assists and 5+ three-pointers while shooting at least 75% from the field in a single game.<\/p>\n

Over his last 43 games, Leonard has averaged 33.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 2.2 steals per 75 possessions, while shooting 57% on two-pointers, 38% from three and 90% from the free-throw line.<\/p>\n

MORE: Sixers\u2019 Playoff Hopes Fading Fast as Injuries Continue to Mount
<\/a><\/p>\n

Clippers Building Momentum Down the Stretch\"\"<\/p>\n

Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue<\/a> believes the team is finally starting to show what it\u2019s capable of.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just think we can be a good team,\u201d Lue said before the win. \u201cWe could put a lot of different combinations out on the floor. But I feel very confident that we can be a really good team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Health has played a key role in that belief. Former NBA All-Star DeMarcus Cousins recently pointed to Leonard\u2019s availability as the biggest difference during the team\u2019s surge.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the healthiest we\u2019ve seen Kawhi in a long time,\u201d Cousins said on FanDuel\u2019s Run It Back podcast. \u201cThat\u2019s great for the Clippers, great for basketball in general.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Clippers\u2019 remaining schedule could also help their momentum. Their final stretch includes games against the Chicago Bulls<\/a>, New Orleans Pelicans<\/a>, Milwaukee Bucks<\/a>, Dallas Mavericks<\/a> and Portland Trail Blazers<\/a>, all teams either below .500 or currently outside the playoff picture.<\/p>\n

For a team that once looked buried in the Western Conference standings, the opportunity is suddenly real.<\/p>\n

Still, Leonard\u2019s message remains unchanged. The Clippers may have rewritten history by climbing back above .500. But in the mind of their leader, the only thing that matters now is completing the comeback.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kawhi Leonard delivered a simple message after the Los Angeles Clippers reached one of the most unlikely milestones…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":654581,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3789],"tags":[7,329,559,149,805,529,4034,192,4032,251,135,4033,4031,121,152,6,470,471,1355],"class_list":["post-654580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles-clippers","tag-basketball","tag-chicago-bulls","tag-clippers","tag-dallas-mavericks","tag-demarcus-cousins","tag-kawhi-leonard","tag-la","tag-la-clippers","tag-laclippers","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-clippers","tag-losangeles","tag-losangelesclippers","tag-milwaukee-bucks","tag-minnesota-timberwolves","tag-nba","tag-new-orleans-pelicans","tag-portland-trail-blazers","tag-tyronn-lue"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116216889263324504","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/654580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=654580"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/654580\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/654581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=654580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=654580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=654580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}