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Kawhi Leonard's Blunt Take on Clippers' 'Mistakes' After Loss to Lakers

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Paolo Songco | Last updated Mar 3, 2025 6:33 AM ET

Not even a big game from Kawhi Leonard was enough to save the Los Angeles Clippers from their blushes on Sunday night. Leonard and Co. traveled across town to face their bitter foes, the Los Angeles Lakers, at Crypto.com Arena, and it was the home team that scored a victory in this latest edition of this long-standing rivalry.

Leonard dropped a season-high 33 points on 13-of-23 shooting, to go along with 10 rebounds and three triples in 40 minutes of action, only to fall to the Lakers in what turned out to be a close battle, 108-102.

After the game, Leonard shared his blunt reaction to the Clippers' shortcomings on Sunday night.

“Just got to keep fighting,” Leonard said, via the Los Angeles Times. “Got to stay focused each and every game and try to limit our mistakes.”

The Clippers fought back admirably in this one after falling behind by as much as 21 points in the third quarter. Leonard, who scored 10 points in the final frame, led the Clippers as they cut down the lead to five points with less than two minutes remaining in the game.

They failed to score from that point on, though, and the Lakers made their opponents pay for their mistakes.

“Just got to get better,” Leonard said. “It’s not about individual accolades. We got to get a team win. And I think I said we got to limit our mistakes and hopefully the ball falls for us in the future.”

Sunday's loss was the Clippers' second straight defeat. They have fallen to 32-28, and are sixth in the Western Conference.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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