Kawhi Leonard, Clippers stretch Raptors losing streak to four games

Article content

The stars were out in full force on Friday night in Toronto, but most of them weren’t playing for the Raptors.

Article content

Conquering hero Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, Paul George and Russell Westbrook — who have two league MVP awards and 35 all-star appearances between them — were too much for a young, beaten-up Raptors squad currently filled with players yet to make an all-star team, though Scottie Barnes has a shot at his first this year. Toronto fell 127-107 to slip to 16-29.

Article content

The Raptors actually made it a game against a Clippers team that had one of its worst shooting nights of the season, forcing head coach Ty Lue to play many of his starters into the final minutes a night before a possible NBA Finals preview in Boston against the Celtics. Leonard was done by that point though, having scored 16 in his 30 minutes.

Harden had a 22-point triple-double, George scored 21, Westbrook 20. Ex-Raptor Norman Powell added 17, including four late to erase any doubt of a Raptors miracle comeback.

Article content

Article content

Barnes had 23, but struggled until the fourth quarter sans Leonard, RJ Barrett had 22 and the Raptors shot just 20.7% from three. L.A. shot 29% from outside, but feasted inside, collecting 66 points in the paint.

Leonard didn’t really show his formerly adoring fans what they were missing much — he was double-teamed often and had a mostly quiet evening — but there were flashes here and there from a player who has been fully back in form this season, averaging career highs in field goal and three-point shooting percentages. And if anyone needs to be reminded of Leonard’s capabilities, all they need to do is look to the rafters of Scotiabank Arena at the NBA championship banner commemorating the title he was most responsible for bringing north of the border.

Article content

Leonard said afterward he heard the applause from those on hand when he was introduced: “Yeah for sure. Everybody know what I done here, how special that year was and they’re very thankful for it,” Leonard said. “So, yeah, every time I come I get a good praise.”

Los Angeles is now 29-14, good for fourth in the deep and impressive Western Conference. The Harden trade has been a success. Westbrook has thrived as a sixth man. There have been enough shots for all, somehow. If they can stay healthy, the group has everything it needs to vie for a title (and a third Finals MVP for Leonard, if that happens).

Leonard improved to 15-2 all-time against Toronto, one of the best marks by any player ever. Had Leonard stuck around the Raptors still might be competing for rings instead of ping pong balls. Without Jakob Poeltl and Immanuel Quickley the team barely looked like it belonged in the same league as the Clippers for much of Friday night. Which makes sense, considering the talent and depth of the L.A. roster.

Article content

Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic had posited the game as a chance for his Raptors to be challenged. “A great opportunity to go over there and play against the best in the world and see where you’re at.” Well, right now Toronto’s at the bottom of the NBA standings, or close enough. If Toronto played in the West, the season would already be over. The East isn’t as impressive and Quickley and Poeltl will stabilize things (35 year-old veteran Thad Young was Toronto’s most effective player on the night, which is not a good thing), but there are going to be many long nights in the next few months. Still, they competed hard and there were some positives, which Rajakovic noted afterward.

CONNECT THE DOTS

It was a reunion game for more reasons than just Kawhi being in town. Powell had a strong career with the Raptors before being dealt for Gary Trent Jr., and the Clippers roster also includes two-time Raptor PJ Tucker. Plus Raptors point guard Dennis Schroder previously played with Paul George and Westbrook and Bruce Brown played with Harden.

Article content

Rajakovic coached Westbrook, Harden and George.

DINO BITES

Rajakovic discussed the injuries hitting the team (backup centre Jontay Porter had to leave after only four minutes due to the eye issue that had been bothering him) and how it would impact things moving forward. “Next man up is going to be the mentality. We still have 15 players available for the game tonight. Obviously, with Quickley being out tonight, we’re gonna go a different route and get another player there who’s gonna start instead of him and see what we have, continue to build,” Rajakovic said. Young and Brown got the call and both played well. It’s possible both could be gone by the Feb. 8 trade deadline, along with Gary Trent Jr., who also started and scored 13 points. Chris Boucher, likely in his last weeks with the Raptors, scored nine.

Article content

Rajakovic backed Barnes as an all-star. “I definitely think so, I definitely think that he did enough this year to prove he’s an all-star player, I think that what he does night in, night out, on offensive end, defensive end puts him the category of those guys,” Rajakovic said.

This one won’t help his cause though. With Leonard blanketing him for part of the game, Barnes struggled, going just 6-for-18 from the field before hitting his final three shots of the game.

@WolstatSun

Article content