After a Game 7 win, the head coach or players all talk about a look the team has, a certain look that lets everyone know they’ll be ready for the moment.
LA Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said his team looked like it was locked in as it went through a walkthrough before Sunday’s 126-111 win to close out their first-round playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks in front of 7,342 at Staples Center.
And he was right, as the Clippers had the kind of game that reminded everyone why they’ve been picked as title contenders since acquiring Kawhi Leonard and Paul George two summers ago.
In Leonard’s case, however, the look never changes. He might show a little fire after a big dunk. He might show a little disappointment after missing a game-tying 3-pointer, like at the end of the Clippers’ Game 5 loss.
He might even look mortal at times, tending to the myriad injuries he’s dealt with in recent years.
But Leonard has earned his reputation as one of the NBA’s elite playoff performers — and his two Finals MVP trophies — because of the poise with which he handles games and moments like this.
Leonard finished with 28 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists and four steals Sunday. According to ESPN Stats and Information, Leonard is the fourth player in NBA history to score 200 or more points on at least 60% shooting from the field in a playoff series.
He was also the Clippers’ most effective defender on Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic, holding him to 0.80 points per play as his primary defender in this series. That’s easily the fewest for any Clippers defender against Doncic — and it takes a tremendous amount of energy. But the Clippers had no choice but to put Leonard in that role, once they were facing elimination.
That is because Doncic is now one of three players to lose back-to-back playoffs despite averaging 30 points, 5 boards and 5 assists in both series. Tracy McGrady (2001-02) and Michael Jordan (1986-87) are the only others to suffer defeat despite such massive performances.
“Oh, man, you know, he did everything,” Leonard said of Doncic. “Shooting it very efficiently from three for sure off the dribble shots. You know, just doing it all for his team. You know he’s a great player and you’ll see him for many years to come. He plays at his own pace and he makes it look easy out there.”
Said George: “S—, he was a star last matchup too. He played off the charts last year in the playoffs and to be honest at a young age like that, you knew he could get better — knew there was room for improvement. Of course. He was even more awesome. He plays with so much confidence. His game is beyond his age. He can pick up and read almost any defense.”
Lue said after Game 6 that the Clippers staff decided to move Leonard onto Doncic, and he embraced the challenge.
But it’s Leonard’s mental toughness that helped the Clippers get through a series that seemed as mentally and emotionally exhausting as it was physically.
Athletes will tell you there’s a muscle memory to performing under pressure. But Leonard’s approach is different. He doesn’t think back on any of his previous playoff performances before big games like Sunday’s Game 7, or draw confidence from the moments and games he’s delivered in the past. Each game, he said, is its own challenge.
“I mean, it’s like that for me,” Leonard said. “I don’t know how other players think, but just for me, it’s about the situation that’s in front of you. Just because you played great in whatever, nine Game 7s, doesn’t mean you play great in Game 10 and vice versa. It’s all about the moment.”
“Sometimes when you’re over-confident you play bad, and sometimes when you’re down on yourself, you play good. For me, it’s about focusing on that moment, having fun and playing hard. That’s it. It’s a game of basketball.”
There’s a lesson in there about controlling the moment, not letting it overwhelm him, that explains Leonard’s unique wiring, and why it’s led to so much success in the biggest moments over the years.
It’s why signing Leonard was such a landmark achievement for the Clippers two summers ago. Winning in the playoffs isn’t just about talent. It’s about having the mental toughness to win a game or a series like this.
The Clippers didn’t just pull out a seven-game series against a budding superstar whose game looks ready to take over the league. They pulled out a seven game series in which they lost the first three games at home, faced withering criticism, and had to confront all their demons from last season’s playoff meltdown.
“I’m not thinking about last year,” Leonard said. “I’m thinking about what we are doing today and what the next step is tomorrow. “I’m glad that we showed character and we showed poise going down 2-0 going on the road, and that Game 3, that meant a lot to me this season. Obviously it got us to this next round, but it’s all about this year.”
The Clippers won this series because they didn’t panic. Lue decided to go small after the first two losses at home and stuck with that alignment despite the Mavericks going extra-tall by inserting 7-foot-4 Boban Marjanovic into the starting lineup in Game 5. Dallas won that game, putting a tremendous amount of pressure on Lue to counter.
Instead, he stuck with the small lineup, trusting in his players the work they’d put in all year. Los Angeles had been the best 3-point shooting team in the league this year (41%), but had shot just 35% from behind the arc (74-for-209) in the first six games.
The Clippers’ 20 3-pointers in the first-round finale were the most in a Game 7 in NBA history. Marcus Morris Sr.’s seven made 3-pointers tied Stephen Curry for the most 3s in a Game 7.
Lue also knew when to make changes. Rajon Rondo helped them win Games 3 and 4 and was +41 heading into Game 5. But when Dallas adjusted the way it was defending him, Lue swapped in young point guard Terance Mann, who responded with 13 points in Game 7, and rode with starter Reggie Jackson — whose hot hand (25 points in Game 6, 15 points in Game 7) helped LA win the final two games.
“They definitely got us war-ready. It’s a great team we played. Unbelievable superstar in Luka. They pushed us,” George said. “But you know, we stuck in there. We played for one another. We played hard and you know, we continue on our season. Onto the next.”
There was plenty that went wrong in LA’s three losses that can go wrong again. The Clippers coaches and players would be the first to tell you they haven’t done anything yet.
But with Leonard back destroying at both ends of the court, as Doncic so eloquently put it after his sublime Game 6 performance on Friday night, the Clippers have that look again.