The game between the Los Angeles Clippers and Indiana Pacers on Monday night witnessed a fourth-quarter explosion from James Harden. Harden hit four straight threes at one point and on the bench, Kawhi Leonard seemed to get more and more hyped after every made shot.
JAMES HARDEN 4-STRAIGHT THREES 🤯
He's hitting snow angels on the court 😂 https://t.co/vPef8jQXaz
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 19, 2023
You could see Leonard jumping up and down after the last one and another angle showed the whole bench going wild.
Wait for it … 🔥@JHarden13 & the @LAClippers “bench” goes wild! Harden 21pt 4th! pic.twitter.com/z4sKzWmR1k
— Jeanne Zelasko (@JeanneZelasko) December 19, 2023
It is not often that you witness something like that and you certainly understand why the bench would go crazy. A fan felt, though, that they had never seen Kawhi celebrate like that before.
“I’ve never seen Kawhi celebrate like this lol.”
I’ve never seen Kawhi celebrate like this lol https://t.co/hojsNRQVza
— kingtisemedia (@kingtisemedia) December 19, 2023
Others agreed with the fan as well, with one saying they had never seen Leonard be this expressive.
Legit never seen Klaw this expressive
— Mr. Bellarie 👨🏾💼👔💼 (@BryantBrady4) December 19, 2023
A fan thinks Leonard knows they’re building something special.
He knows they got something brewing
— Baba yaga (@BabbbaYaggga) December 19, 2023
A fan pointed out the contrast from when Kawhi was on his knees after Russell Westbrook airballed a clutch shot.
Reminds me of when he was on his knees after that westbrook game winner attempt pic.twitter.com/wQDjKFVNBN
— Josh (@jreambigger) December 19, 2023
One says Leonard has never had a teammate who can do what Harden did.
https://twitter.com/twitte74001/status/1737093573722390906
One thinks Leonard just loves Harden.
Kawhi loves harden lol
— Playoff Quan (@Quanworld_12) December 19, 2023
Interestingly, the last time we saw somewhat of a similar reaction, was when Kawhi was hyped after Harden’s clutch three-pointer against the Rockets. It could just be that considering how bad things were at the start, the 32-year-old is just over the moon now to see Harden playing so well.
Kawhi Leonard Spoke On James Harden’s Big Night
Harden was unsurprisingly the biggest talking point after that 21-point fourth-quarter and Leonard was asked about his exploits as well. The five-time All-Star stated he was very entertained and it felt to him like he had paid for some seats.
“It was very entertaining. It was like I paid for some seats tonight. I’m happy to be on this side of him being hot. I’ve seen it a lot being on the opposing team. But tonight it was amazing to watch.”
Kawhi Leonard on James Harden tonight:
“It was very entertaining. It was like I paid for some seats tonight. I’m happy to be on this side of him being hot. I’ve seen it a lot being on the opposing team. But tonight it was amazing to watch.”
— Joey Linn (@joeylinn_) December 19, 2023
These two have had many great battles on the court over the years and Leonard is thankful he gets to be on Harden’s team when he had it going like that. The 10-time All-Star ended the night with an impressive stat line of 35 points, 3 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block, as the Clippers won 151-127 to improve to 16-10.
Kawhi Leonard And The Clippers Are On Fire
As for Kawhi’s performance in this one, he had 28 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal. He was done for the night by the end of the third quarter, as the Clippers were up 114-94 at that point.
These blowouts are starting to become somewhat of a theme in Clippers games now. They have won three of their last four games by at least 20 points and are on a league-best eight-game win streak. All the struggles after acquiring Harden seem like a distant memory now as they are firing on all cylinders.
Leonard himself struggled a fair bit at the start of the season but he has now found his form. The two-time Defensive Player of the Year is averaging 24.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game while shooting 52.0% from the field and 44.0% from beyond the arc.
Also noteworthy is the fact that he has played every single game this season. Head coach Tyronn Lue had stated that it was time for the Clippers to take the regular season seriously and Leonard certainly seems to be doing that.
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