The Los Angeles Clippers are proving to be real contenders in the Western Conference.
On Thursday night, Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers walloped the Denver Nuggets 117-83 to take a 2-1 lead in their Western Conference quarterfinal playoff series.
While scoring wasn't too much of an issue for Ty Lue's squad, it was the lockdown defensive effort that led the way in Game 3. Three-time league MVP, Nikola Jokic had yet another triple-double, but was held to a modest 23 points, while Jamal Murray matched 'The Joker's' 23 points, the other 10 Nuggets players who touched the floor scored a combined 37 points.
Following the dominant Game 3 victory, Leonard was asked about Thursday's defensive performance. Leonard was asked where he gets his motivation to lock down defensively from before shouting out one of the Clippers' unsung heroes, Kendrick Dunn as well as assistant coach, Jeff Van Gundy.
“I have to give credit to our coaching staff," Leonard said. "Starting with JVG...it's guys on the floor that want to guard. They’re not just pointing at me and telling me to take him… They motivate me defensively. Especially Kris Dunn. Just seeing how he plays every game. Derrick Jones coming in, and Zu being that back line.
"They just want to play. They motivate me to play. I think that’s where it comes from. You see guys digging in deep and want to guard, it trickles down to everyone on the floor.”
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