Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard questionable for Game 4 after admitting knee ‘didn’t respond well’

Russell Westbrook, who scored 1 point on 0-of-7 shooting and got ejected after jousting with P.J. Washington, left American Airlines Center before reporters were able to speak to him.

“Playoff” Paul George scored 7 points in 30 minutes.

Those, however, were lesser Los Angeles Clippers concerns following their Friday night Game 3 loss to the Mavericks than the ongoing knee woes of their biggest star, Kawhi Leonard, who was listed as questionable on the injury report for Game 4 in Dallas on Sunday.

After practice on Saturday, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said Leonard is still dealing with swelling and inflammation in his knee. They haven’t determined whether he’ll play or again have his minutes restricted in Game 4, which has a relatively quick-turn 2:30 p.m. start.

“Organization-wise, we’ve shown that we want to make sure that we do what’s best for the player,” Lue said.

“If he’s just hurting and can’t go, he just can’t go. But we haven’t gotten to that point yet,” Lue continued.

Leonard missed Game 1 as swelling persisted in the right knee that had kept him sidelined since March 1. He returned in Game 2 but scored only 15 points on 7-of-17 shooting in 35 minutes.

Lue said Leonard came out of Game 2 “fine” physically, but it turns out that wasn’t the case. Leonard played only 25 minutes in Game 3, finishing with nine points and nine rebounds.

“It just didn’t respond the way we wanted after the first game,” Leonard said after Friday’s 101-90 loss. “But we’re gonna get it right. Time will tell, but we’re doing all the right things.”

Late Friday night, Leonard sounded less than optimistic about whether he would play.

“We’ll see tomorrow,” he said. “But I want to play.”

Why did he play relatively few minutes? Leonard declined to be specific.

“Tonight it was either play limited minutes or not play,” he said. “I wanted to be on the floor to help the team. That’s what the results are.

“Frustrating that it happened to me this late in the season, but we’re gonna keep going and we’re gonna get it right.”

Asked how he feels in terms of explosiveness, Leonard instead spoke about his lack of games and practices in the last three-plus weeks.

“It takes time to get in that rhythm,” he said. “I’m just happy I played, and for the most part was able to get out there and experience the game.”

Twitter: @townbrad

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— Luka Doncic plays through pain to lead Mavs to 2-1 lead; says knee injury is ‘not good’

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