Tai Lo says Kawhi Leonard’s injury is ‘severely deflated’

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Clippers have gone from believing they can beat the Phoenix Suns to now wondering if they’ll bring Kawhi Leonard back at some point in a best-of-seven series.

Leonard was ruled out prior to Game 3 due to a right knee sprain, which aggravated at the end of the Clippers winning Game 1 and losing Game 2, according to Lawrence Frank, the Clippers’ president of basketball operations.

Leonard’s injury is not related to the torn right anterior cruciate ligament injury that sidelined him from last season, a source told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

With Leonard and Paul George (right knee) sidelined, the Clippers put up a battle Thursday night before losing 129-124 to fall 2-1 in the first-round series. Devin Booker burned the Clippers, scoring 45 points, and Kevin Durant added 28 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Leonard will be monitored and evaluated daily. It’s considered day in and day out, with the Clippers getting a quick turnaround before Saturday’s 12:30 p.m. PT Tip for Game 4.

“The symptoms got worse after the second game,” Frank said before the third game. “Obviously, if we are not comfortable [Leonard] play [in Game 2], we will not have. After the match, however, things did not improve. They got worse. So we will rule it out and take it day by day.”

After defeating Phoenix in Game 1, Clippers coach Tai Lo said his team believed they could win the series. Leonard was unstoppable at times, averaging 34.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 2.0 steals while shooting 54.5% from the field in his first two games, adding to his stellar playoff reputation.

But Law said he learned of Leonard’s knee injury on Wednesday night and was told before the shootout Thursday morning that Leonard wouldn’t be available.

“It shrinks so bad,” Lee said after losing the Clippers on Thursday. “I think it’s more for Kohie, because you have a guy who’s coming out of his ACL, he’s never missed a rehab session, he’s eating well, he’s eating clean, he’s doing everything he can for his body, he’s working so hard to get to that point. And then you have something like that going on.”

“So it’s hard for him, for all the work he’s been doing. I feel bad for him.”

Sources told Wojnarowski before it began, however, that the Clippers were already without George, who would likely be knocked out in the first round.

Frank said that Leonard’s injury would not speed up George’s recovery from his injury, which George suffered on March 21.

“He’s made progress,” Frank said of George, who has been practicing and shooting on the field. “But his recovery time hasn’t changed because Kawhi is away tonight. He continues to work his ass and make progress every day. So day in and day out.”

Without Leonard, Norman Powell tried to keep up with Booker, scoring 42 points. Russell Westbrook had 30 points, 12 assists, eight rebounds and three rebounds, but blamed his six turnovers.

What made things more difficult for the Clippers was that the Suns went to the line 46 times compared to the Clippers’ 25 attempts.

Westbrook said he felt bad about Leonard not being able to play after putting in two dominant performances in Phoenix. Leonard played 42 minutes and had 38 points, five rebounds and five assists in a 115-110 win over Phoenix in Game 1.

When asked about his heavy minutes in the win, Lee said the Clippers carefully worked on Leonard’s minutes and workload all season for exactly that reason, saying it was “what we’ve been saving up for.” Leonard sat out at least one consecutive game until the last two straight sets of the regular season.

Leonard played 39 minutes and had 31 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in the Suns’ 123-109 Game 2 victory on Tuesday.

“I just feel sorry for him,” Westbrook said. “He’s probably been playing his best basketball in a while, and he’s probably the best in the world honestly. It’s just bad for him mentally.”

“But it was good to see him around [at Game 3] And connect with us on the bench. We hope to see how he feels and see what’s next. If it doesn’t come back, then we have to stick around each other, support each other, and find ways to make something happen. It’s a chain. first to four. Get ready Saturday afternoon.”