ESPN piece from Windhorst today...
Starts out talking about how they met in the playoffs twice, but first time when SA led the record breaking Warriors by 25 in game one, Kawhi landed on Zaza (questionable Zaza foot slide under Kawhi), which hurt his foot and he was out for the series, then the second time with Raptors vs Warriors in finals, KD tore his Achilles...
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Is 2023 the year the game's fans finally get to witness this tantalizing duel?
Sunday's first-round Game 1 between the No. 4-seeded Phoenix Suns and the fifth-seeded LA Clippers hinted the answer might be yes. The seeds of an instant classic between the two future Hall of Famers, who have four Finals MVPs between them, were sown during an epic fourth quarter in the Clippers' 115-110 victory.
The game was tied at 81 all to start the fourth. Leonard was guarding Durant. Durant was guarding Leonard. No eye contact. No words. Straight competition. What the NBA playoffs are supposed to be about.
Here's how the first glorious minutes of the Durant-Leonard fourth-quarter matchup went:
Leonard three-point play, drawing a foul on Durant on a pure strength drive
Durant with one of his sweet 3-pointers over the top of Leonard's fingers
Leonard with one of his trademark midrange jumpers
To understand the rarity of this matchup, Leonard and Durant had faced off against each other only once since the disappointment in 2019 -- during a lone regular-season game in February 2021.
But Sunday, Leonard was the primary defender down the stretch (which was especially the case with Paul George out) against Durant, contributing to a strategy that walled him off from the rest of the Suns' offense.
Durant finished with 27 points, including 10 in the fourth, later making another 3-pointer over Leonard. But Durant took just a single shot in the final six minutes as the Clippers pulled out an impressive win -- one in which they were +250 underdogs entering the series, according to Caesars Sportsbook.
Leonard put forth a masterpiece with 38 points in 42 minutes.
"It's great. [Durant's] an all-time player right there. Hall of Famer. You know, that's what it's about," Leonard said. "You have an opportunity to play great, and you just want the opportunity; and if it's win, lose or draw, it's about giving your best out there, and you're able to play against the best."
The Clippers had an elaborate game plan ready to deal with Durant, rotating different players on him and bringing help defense from unexpected angles..