INGLEWOOD — Two days earlier, Clippers star Kawhi Leonard said he was content to take his comeback slowly, patient to play limited minutes while continuing to get his game in order after a lengthy layoff. He missed the first 34 games of the season while tending his right knee.
On Wednesday night, he showed what he could do if the restraints came off.
Leonard scored a game-high 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting in his first significant minutes since returning to the lineup three games ago. After averaging 20 minutes in his first three appearances, the six-time All Star stayed on the court for 24 minutes in the Clippers’ 126-67 victory over the Brooklyn Nets at the Intuit Dome.
It was the largest margin of victory in franchise history, topping a 50-point victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on April 10, 2022. It also was the worst loss in Nets’ history, eclipsing a 52-point defeat to Houston on Oct. 18, 1978.
Coach Tyronn Lue said before the game that Leonard would come off of a minutes restriction against the Nets. He might have played more, but the Clippers (22-17) didn’t need him – or any of their starters – to play in the fourth quarter.
Star point guard James Harden took a seat after posting 21 points, six rebounds and 11 assists as did fellow guard Norman Powell, who finished with 18 points. Ivica Zubac had 11 points and nine rebounds.
The Clippers outscored the Nets 81-30 in the middle two quarters, allowing Lue to empty his bench for the fourth.
The bench didn’t lose the momentum, leading by as much as 64 before finishing off the Nets (14-27) to wrap up the 59-point win.
Lue credited his role players for showing up every night prepared to play, for making a difference. Derrick Jones got that chance on Wednesday. A second chance.
Jones returned to the starting lineup against the Nets after being bumped out by Leonard’s return and he made the most of his 19 minutes with 11 points, including a high-flying dunk off an assist from Harden in the third quarter.
This game was one of the easier challenges the Clippers will face over the next several days, a respite they might need.
Starting with Wednesday’s lopsided result, the Clippers play six games in a nine-day stretch, five of them next week, including games against the Lakers (Sunday) and the Boston Celtics (Jan. 22).
The challenging schedule is part of the league’s makeup dates for some of the Clippers and Lakers games that were postponed because of last week’s fires and inclement weather in Atlanta.
“It is what it is,” Lue said of the adjusted and compact schedule that has the Clippers playing two sets of back-to-back games. “We played, I think, pretty much the top two hardest schedules in the league so far this year, so it just adds to it.
“We just got to take it game by game, can’t fall victim to the schedule. … We just have to lock in and take it game by game and then just go from there.”
Nets star Ben Simmons sat out the second game of a back-to-back. The Nets were also without their top two scorers – Cam Thomas (hamstring) and Cam Johnson (ankle) – as well as Bojan Bogdanovic (foot), who has not yet played this season.
More to come on this story.