INGLEWOOD — It was meant as a compliment. Kawhi Leonard wasn’t so sure.
Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said on Wednesday night that working with Leonard during this recent stretch has been like coaching the two-time NBA Finals MVP in the playoffs.
“You know how he gets to the playoffs and he goes to that next level,” Lue said after Leonard scored 19 of his 33 points in the second half to lift the Clippers to a 119-105 victory over the Washington Wizards.
“Ever since that Lakers game (last month), I thought he’s gone to that next level every single night and the willingness has been huge for us as far as winning games. Him and James (Harden) both, but Kawhi, I think has been going to a playoff level in his last, what, 14, 15 games, which has been huge for us.”
Leonard, though, shook off any notion that there is a Playoff Kawhi vs. a Regular Season Kawhi.
“I don’t know. I don’t even know who that is. Y’all make up those names and titles. It’s the same player in and out in the game,” said Leonard, who has averaged 21.5 career points in the postseason.
Right now, it’s difficult to discern which is which.
Leonard scored 32 points against the Lakers on Dec. 20 on a less-than-stellar 8-for-24 shooting night. Since then, he has been on a scoring spree, averaging 32.7 points on 52.3% shooting over the next 12 games, with much of his workload coming in the fourth quarters.
Against the Wizards, Leonard scored 14 points on 4-of-9 shooting (all 3-point attempts) and a pair of free throws in nine fourth-quarter minutes.
Right now, Lue will take whichever Kawhi shows up in the latter stages of a game.
“He’s been huge for us in the fourth quarters the last, what, three, four weeks,” Lue said. “Just going down the stretch and taking those games over down the stretch has been huge for us.
“Then shooting, making seven 3’s, seven out of 11 threes (for the game). But down the stretch of that fourth quarter, just taking over the game. And then we were able to get some stops defensively, which helped us out a lot.”
Leonard has scored at least 20 points over the past 22 games this season, prompting Lue to credit his play down the stretch as a key reason the Clippers (17-23) have gone 11-2 since that Lakers game and are a half-game out of a postseason spot.
“It’s not even about scoring. I’ll trade these to be the top-seeded team,” Leonard said. “You know what I mean? I think that has a lot to do with it and the ball just going in. But yeah, playing these games and not really sitting a lot of the fourth quarters or nobody else kind of really taking over.
“I mean, that’s what you see in most cases. So probably that.”
ROAD AHEAD
The Clippers, who have won four games in a row, head to Toronto to take on the Raptors (25-17) on Friday night in the opener of a three-game trip.
They then play back-to-back games against the Washington Wizards (10-29) on Monday and the Chicago Bulls (19-21) on Tuesday.
CLIPPERS AT RAPTORS
When: Friday, 4:30 p.m. PT
Where: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto
TV/Radio: FDSN SoCal, 570 AM