Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard
Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2)
Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers made it six wins in a row on Thursday with a convincing 118-101 win over the Utah Jazz. Leonard, who has been on a heater of late, kept his foot on the gas against Utah, dropping 45 points on 16-of-29 shooting, to go along with seven rebounds, three assists, two steals, two blocks and six triples in 39 minutes of action.
Though L.A.’s six-game winning streak, Leonard has averaged 39.0 points on 53.2% shooting, 8.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.7 steals and 1.5 blocks, while also knocking down 4.3 triples on a 44.1% clip.
Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard
Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard
Following Thursday’s win, the Clippers received some good news on Friday — one that is expected to make them an even more dangerous squad moving forward. This comes in the form of Ivica Zubac’s return to action following a two-week absence.
Zubac has been out of commission for L.A. since Dec. 20, when he sustained a Grade 2 left ankle sprain in a win against their cross-town rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers. On Friday, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that Zubac will return on Saturday against the Boston Celtics.
“Clippers center Ivica Zubac is available to return to action for Saturday’s home game against the Boston Celtics, as L.A. goes for seven wins in a row, sources tell ESPN,” Charania posted on X.
As Charania indicated in his report, Zubac deserves a lot of credit for his aggressive approach to rehab. When Charania first reported Zubac’s injury on Dec. 21, the senior NBA reporter indicated that the Clippers big man is expected to miss “several weeks.” The fact that Zubac is set to make his comeback after just two weeks is impressive, to say the least.
In 28 games played this season, Zubac, L.A.’s starting center, has averaged 15.6 points on 60.9% shooting, 11.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.0 blocks in 32.0 minutes per contest.
The Clippers have done well to put their rough start to the season behind them. However, at 12-21, they still have a long way to go before they can re-establish themselves as a legitimate threat in the Western Conference.
Nevertheless, Zubac’s return to action is another step in the right direction for the Clippers.
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About the author
Paolo Songco is a senior writer on Athlon Sports’ breaking and trending news team, where he focuses primarily on the NBA and WNBA while also contributing NFL coverage. With more than a decade of experience in sports media, he has written over 20,000 articles and interviewed athletes such as former NFL star Rob Gronkowski and Olympic silver medalist Samantha Peszek. A graduate of Ateneo de Manila University with a degree in Management Information Systems, Paolo is one of Athlon’s most prolific and trusted voices in basketball coverage.
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