Clippers rally to beat Pistons in Kawhi Leonard’s return
Clippers guard Reggie Jackson shoots while defended by Detroit Pistons guard Jaden Ivey, right, during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Raul Romero Jr.)
Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard drives the lane against Detroit Pistons forward Bojan Bogdanovic, left, during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Raul Romero Jr.)
Detroit Pistons forward Isaiah Livers, left, and Clippers forward Marcus Morris Sr. vie for the ball during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Raul Romero Jr.)
Clippers guard Paul George is defended by Detroit Pistons guard Hamidou Diallo during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Raul Romero Jr.)
Detroit Pistons guard Alec Burks, left, looks for an opening as Clippers guard Terance Mann defends during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Raul Romero Jr.)
Detroit Pistons guard Hamidou Diallo, center, shoots over several Clippers defenders during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Raul Romero Jr.)
Clippers forward Marcus Morris Sr., left, recovers the ball during the first half of their game against the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Raul Romero Jr.)
The Detroit Pistons’ Jalen Duren takes a shot as the Clippers’ Nicolas Batum, left, and Paul George defend during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
The Detroit Pistons’ Jalen Duren takes a shot as the Clippers’ Nicolas Batum, left, and Paul George defend during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Clippers guard Reggie Jackson, right, loses the ball while defended by Detroit Pistons guard Jaden Ivey during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Raul Romero Jr.)
The Detroit Pistons’ Bojan Bogdanovic handles the ball as the Clippers’ Reggie Jackson defends during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard, right, is defended by Detroit Pistons guard Killian Hayes during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Raul Romero Jr.)
The Detroit Pistons’ Killian Hayes takes a shot as the Clippers’ Reggie Jackson defends during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Clippers forward Norman Powell goes up for a layup as Detroit Pistons forward Isaiah Livers (12) defends during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Raul Romero Jr.)
Clippers guard Paul George looks to pass as Detroit Pistons forward Saddiq Bey defends during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Raul Romero Jr.)
The Detroit Pistons’ Jaden Ivey takes a shot as the Clippers’ Reggie Jackson defends during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard shoots over Detroit Pistons guard Killian Hayes during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. Leonard finished with six points, five rebounds and four assists in 24 minutes in his return after sitting out 12 games with knee stiffness. (AP Photo/Raul Romero Jr.)
Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard looks on during a pause in play in the first half of their game against the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Raul Romero Jr.)
The Clippers’ Marcus Morris Jr., left, and the Detroit Pistons’ Isaiah Livers vie for a rebound during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
The Detroit Pistons’ Jaden Ivey controls the ball as the Clippers’ Reggie Jackson, left, defends during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Clippers center Ivica Zubac, right, goes up for a layup over Detroit Pistons forward Marvin Bagley III during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Raul Romero Jr.)
The Detroit Pistons’ Bojan Bogdanovic takes a shot as the Clippers’ Nicolas Batum defends during the first half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
The Clippers’ Marcus Morris Sr. shoots as the Detroit Pistons’ Saddiq Bey defends during the second half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Detroit Pistons guard Alec Burks drives on Clippers center Ivica Zubac during the second half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Raul Romero Jr.)
The Clippers’ John Wall takes a shot as the Detroit Pistons’ Hamidou Diallo, left, and Alec Burks defend during the second half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
The Clippers’ John Wall takes a shot as the Detroit Pistons’ Hamidou Diallo, left, and Alec Burks defend during the second half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Detroit Pistons forward Bojan Bogdanovic makes a layup as Clippers forward Norman Powell watches during the second half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Raul Romero Jr.)
Clippers coach Tyronn Lue looks on from the sidelines during the second half of their game against the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Raul Romero Jr.)
The Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard takes a shot in traffic during the second half of their game against the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Detroit Pistons forward Isaiah Livers, right, drives past Clippers forward Norman Powell, center, with the help of a screen from Pistons center Jalen Duren during the second half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Raul Romero Jr.)
Clippers guard Paul George shoots from the perimeter during the second half of their game against the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Detroit Pistons forward Bojan Bogdanovic, right, looks for an opening while defended by Clippers guard Paul George during the second half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Raul Romero Jr.)
Detroit Pistons guard Jaden Ivey, right, drives against Clippers guard Paul George during the second half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Raul Romero Jr.)
The Clippers’ Norman Powell takes a shot as the Detroit Pistons’ Hamidou Diallo defends during the second half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Detroit Pistons coach Dwane Casey watches from the sidelines during the second half of their game against the Clippers on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Raul Romero Jr.)
Detroit Pistons guard Hamidou Diallo drives while defended by Clippers forward Norman Powell during the second half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Raul Romero Jr.)
Clippers guard Paul George gets to the basket for a layup during the second half of their game against the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Detroit Pistons forward Bojan Bogdanovic dribbles past Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard during the second half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Raul Romero Jr.)
Clippers guard Paul George soars to the basket as the Detroit Pistons’ Jalen Duren defends during the second half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Detroit Pistons guard Killian Hayes dribbles while defended by Clippers guard Paul George during the second half on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Raul Romero Jr.)
Actress Angela Bassett attends a game between the Clippers and the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Clippers forward Marcus Morris Sr. warms up for the team’s game against the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Raul Romero Jr.)
LOS ANGELES — Kawhi Leonard returned to the court on Thursday night, much to the excitement of his coach and the fans. But for the star forward, it was just another step in a long recovery from knee surgery.
“It was good to be back, to be able to be in live actions and getting some reps, talking to teammates on the floor instead of the sidelines, so yeah, it felt good. I was happy to be back” Leonard said after his first game in nearly a month.
Leonard has been sidelined since he experienced stiffness in his right knee during a shootaround at Oklahoma City. He missed the past 12 games and while he hopes to move forward, he knows there is no guarantee he won’t experience similar setbacks.
“I said before, at the start of the season, it’s going to be a long journey. ACL recovery isn’t just one year,” Leonard said. “Everybody thinks that, but it’s a two-year process, so, I know that and I’m going to keep going through the process.”
Before the game, Coach Tyronn Lue struggled to contain his giddiness and did a poor job trying not to smile when asked about his star player.
His reaction was understandable. Seeing Leonard take the floor isn’t something the Clippers have been able to rely on this season.
But there he was, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with his teammates as the starting lineups were announced for Thursday’s game against the Detroit Pistons, and the Crypto.com Arena crowd was ready. Leonard was in uniform, and the fans gave him a resounding welcome back.
Leonard, though, had an inauspicious start to his first game since Oct. 25. He dished off his first touch to Paul George and then missed his first shot. He was fouled on his second attempt and missed both free throws. Leonard’s first basket came on a baseline fadeaway, and he played just 12 minutes in the first half.
He played another 12 minutes after halftime and finished with six points on 2-of-8shooting, five rebounds and four assists. He watched from the bench as the Clippers rallied late in the second half to close out the Pistons, 96-91.
Unlike some of his other teammates, George didn’t have any pregame pep talk forLeonard. He said he kept it low-key.
“He’s professional, you know, and he’s been down that road of being out and coming back, so it wasn’t nothing new to him,” George said. “It was just good for him to get another go. (We need to) continue to keep going from here.”
The Clippers have won all three games Leonard has played. But this one took some work.
The Clippers found themselves having to hold off the scrappy Pistons (3-13), who had three players score in double figures. Reggie Jackson’s free throws with 16.8 seconds finally assured the Clippers of the victory.
Leonard wasn’t the only one who had a rough time in the early going. George continued his opening quarter struggles, going 0 for 6 before scoring six points byhalftime and only Jackson had reached double figures with 16 as the Clippers trailed 50-42 at intermission.
The Pistons didn’t seem to care who was on the floor. They ran off to a 12-point lead in the first half before George buried a 3-pointer from the corner to tie the game at 30 late in the half.
The Pistons didn’t back down after halftime. They kept finding ways to score, namely putting the ball into the hands of Bodan Bogdanovic (26) and Jaden Ivey (18) and held onto the lead until Terance Mann’s three-point play put the Clippers ahead 66-65 with 1:06 left in the third. It was just the spark the Clippers needed.
While the second unit kept the game close, the Clippers starters broke it open. With Detroit leading 73-70, Lue sent the starting five back onto the floor with 9:45 left to play and the move paid off. The Clippers regained the lead when Marcus Morris Sr. scored a layup and kept going.
They outscored the Pistons 15-6 to take an 85-79 lead with 4:55 left. George contributed two big baskets during the run – a long 3-pointer and a dunk off of a steal. The Clippers (9-7) didn’t trail after that.
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George and Marcus Morris had 16 points each and Ivica Zubac tied his career high with 18 rebounds to complete the comeback.
In the two games Leonard had played, he came off the bench in the second half with the thinking that he would be fresh for the end of the game. Lue said he has veered away from that thinking because he often wouldn’t remember to put Leonard back in the game.
“That was too nasty,” Lue said. “I didn’t like it. I mean, you got the best player, andyou look down and sometimes the game is going for so long, you forget.”
Pistons coach Dwyane Casey, whose team lost its fifth in a row playing withoutinjured Cade Cunningham, said he found out they would be facing Leonard the same way most of the NBA did – when the Clippers changed Leonard’s status from out to questionable.
As much as the Pistons might have enjoyed seeing Leonard come back after they left town, Casey said it’s good to have the five-time All-Star back on the floor.
“He’s one of the best players in the league and it’s just unfortunate he has had theinjuries he’s had,” Casey said. “Because the NBA needs him.”
