Vintage Kawhi Leonard scores 39, sparks Clippers 103-102 win against Nuggets to even series

How even is this series? The Clippers and Nuggets have played 96 minutes of regulation ball and are separated by one point.

Kawhi Leonard thrives in these environments. He is a two-time Finals MVP, a man with the rings to prove he can rise to the moment. He reminded everyone of that Monday night with a vintage 39-point performance on 15-of-19 shooting — just look at his shot chart.

It wasn’t just the shooting, Leonard made clutch passes and played elite defense. It was a bit of a bounce-back performance after his seven turnovers in Game 1 were a key part of the Clippers’ loss.

In a game where neither team ever led by more than eight points, the Clippers made more clutch plays down the stretch to earn a 103-102 win, which evens the series at 1-1. These teams head to the Intuit Dome Thursday for the first playoff game ever in that building.

If Game 3 is anything like the first two, it’s a must-watch for any hoops fan.

Interim Nuggets coach David Adelman leaned into his star — Nikola Jokic played the entire second half on his way to a 26-point, 12-rebound, 10-assist triple-double.

It was more than Jokic and Leonard putting on a show. Russell Westbrook was again hitting corner 3s, to the point that the Clippers finally started to contest the shots. Jamal Murray had 23 points and six assists. Michael Porter Jr. had a bounce-back game with 15 points and 15 rebounds. James Harden had 18 points and seven assists, while Norman Powell started out slowly, missing his first five shots, but he finished with 13 points, including a clutch 3-pointer late. Ivica Zubac again played brilliantly on both ends, scoring 16 with a dozen rebounds.

However, in the end, the Nuggets have nobody who can slow Leonard when he plays like this, If he can do that a couple more times in this series, Denver may be home much earlier than expected this postseason.