Clippers SF Kawhi Leonard ruled out for Game 3 vs. Suns with knee sprain
Apr 20, 2023, 1:07 PM | Updated: 6:19 pm
Ish Wainright #12 of the Phoenix Suns steals the ball from Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Los Angeles Clippers during the first half of the game at Footprint Center on April 09, 2023 in Phoenix, Arizona.(Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
(Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
The Los Angeles Clippers have ruled out forward Kawhi Leonard for the team’s Game 3 matchup against the Phoenix Suns due to a right knee sprain.
Clippers head coach Ty Lue told reporters pregame that he found out Kawhi Leonard had injured his knee on Wednesday night.
The team then found out during shootaround Thursday that he’d miss Game 3.
Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Leonard aggravated the knee issue in Game 1 and played through it in Game 2.
RELATED STORIES
Wojnarowski adds that Leonard is expected to be day-to-day ahead of Game 4 on Saturday.
Despite Leonard reportedly going down with the injury in Game 1, he nor the team mentioned the issue postgame.
Already down Paul George, it’s another tough blow for a Clippers team that could face a 2-1 deficit in Round 1 after Thursday’s contest.
Through the first two playoff games against the Suns (40 minutes per game), Leonard averaged 34.5 points on 54.5% shooting and 60% from long range to go along with 6.5 rebounds and six assists.
While Leonard heads to the bench for Game 3, the same can’t be said for Suns point guard Chris Paul, who remained off the injury report after X-rays came back negative on his right hand.
Paul appeared to injure his right hand on a steal in the fourth quarter of Phoenix’s Game 2 victory over Los Angeles.
The guard is averaging 11.5 points, nine assists and 7.5 rebounds through two playoff matchups.
The Suns look to take a 2-1 lead over the Clippers on Thursday night. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. Catch all the action on Arizona Sports, the app or online.
