Kevin Durant calls Kawhi Leonard a "Hall of Fame player"
The Clippers and Nets finally faced off, and it lived up to all the hype. Even though the Clippers came up shorthanded, it was easily the best game of the NBA season.
Right from the beginning, Durant and Leonard guarded each other closely. The two have a high level of respect for each other, and Durant made it known post-game.
"He's just a savant," Durant said. "He plays the game at his pace, he is in control out there as an offensive player. He's a three-level scorer. So you just gotta be ready for him to do anything out there."
Both players were phenomenal in the highly anticipated matchup. Here was the stat breakdown for both Kawhi and Durant:
Kawhi: 33 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals, 2 blocks, 12/24 FGs
Durant: 28 points, 9 rebounds, 1 block, 11/13 FGs
Many have criticized the Nets for their poor defense, but none of that was on display against the Clippers. For the most part, James Harden played some great defense on Kawhi Leonard and Serge Ibaka. The Clippers didn't get very many easy looks inside and worked hard for their shot selection. Despite it all, the Nets just had too much firepower. Their big three scored 25 of the 27 points in the final six minutes of the game.
These two teams meet again this month - February 21, to be exact. The Clippers will have three weeks to bounce back, make it right, and get another shot at the Brooklyn Nets.
