Kawhi

Leonard

Leonard extended his streak of 20-point games to 56 on Wednesday. However, Oklahoma City’s defense made things tough on him throughout the night, as he shot under 50.0 percent from the field and committed three turnovers. The former two-time Finals MVP contributed on the glass and was solid from beyond the arc, but Wednesday certainly wasn’t one of his more productive outings.

Leonard continues to finish off a strong season where he’s provided top-five per game value. The small forward has impressively appeared in 63 games so far after appearing in just 37 games last year. Leonard turns 35 this offseason, but is still playing at a high level.

Leonard came out on fire in this one, dropping 13 of his 26 points in the first quarter. The 34-year-old small forward finished out another week strong as the regular season winds down. He’s provided top-15 per game value over the last two weeks. Leonard and the Clippers have four games in the last week of the regular season, starting with a matchup against the Mavericks on Tuesday.

On a night when Darius Garland (11/2/3/1/1 with one three-pointer) shot 5-of-17 from the field, Leonard could not do enough to drag the Clippers over the finish line. The veteran forward finished with yet another 20-point game, and most fantasy managers will take the final stat line. And they’ll also hope to see Leonard finish Week 23 on a high note, as the Clippers visit the Kings on Sunday.

Leonard extended his streak of games with at least 20 points to 51 games on Sunday, but it was close. And that had more to do with the Clippers’ offensive balance than anything the Bucks did defensively. Six Clippers reached double figures, with John Collins and Bennedict Mathurin joining Leonard as 20-point scorers. The Clippers play three games in Week 23, starting with the Trail Blazers on Tuesday in a critical matchup for tiebreaker purposes.

The Clippers appeared to be on their way to one of their worst defeats of the season, but Leonard stepped up when he was most needed. The star forward shot 5-of-8 from the field in the fourth quarter, including a pull-up jumper with less than a second remaining that gave the Clippers a 114-113 lead. That would be the final score as Indiana’s Jay Huff missed two free throws with one-tenth of a second remaining. Leonard and the Clippers play once more in Week 22, a Sunday matinee against the reeling Bucks.

Leonard’s streak of 20-point performances extended to 49 consecutive games on Wednesday after the Clippers defeated the Raptors by 25 points. He shot efficiently from the field, as he usually does, and found good production at the free-throw line along the way. Leonard’s defensive stats weren’t noteworthy in his 30 minutes of game action, but his impact was felt nonetheless. The two-time NBA champion hasn’t had many dominant performances lately. Yet, he’s remained a reliable contributor on a nightly basis from a fantasy basketball standpoint.

Leonard was initially listed as questionable with an ankle injury, but was ultimately ruled in for Wednesday’s game against the Raptors. Jordan Miller and Bennedict Mathurin will remain as bench players with Leonard in the starting lineup Wednesday.

Leonard has played in the Clippers’ last two games, but he has missed a couple games recently with this ankle injury. He continues to manage it, but if he ends up sitting out, Jordan Miller could start in his place once again, though Miller is questionable as well with a back injury. Bennedict Mathurin is also a candidate to start if Kawhi is out.

A lopsided victory kept Leonard off the floor in the fourth quarter, limiting him to just 25 minutes in total. On the one hand, the lower minutes could be seen as beneficial for the two-time Finals MVP, who has been dealing with an ankle injury recently. On the other hand, his limited game action left him with fewer minutes to produce at a high level. He still nearly reached 30 points in his time on the floor and was active on the defensive end, but he’ll have a chance to put up even bigger numbers on Wednesday against the Raptors.