SAN FRANCISCO — LA Clippers star Kawhi Leonard will not face the Golden State Warriors here on Wednesday due to a sprained right ankle.
Leonard landed awkwardly after attempting to block a shot late in the fourth quarter of the Clippers’ win over the visiting Utah Jazz on Monday.
“Just rolled my ankle,” he said Monday. “But I should be fine.”
It’s the latest injury for Leonard, who returned last week and played in three games after a 12-game absence due to a right knee injury.
The Clippers, in fact, will face the defending champs without their two best players. Paul George will miss his second straight game with a right hamstring tendon strain.
Leonard played in two of the first three games of the season before experiencing stiffness in his surgically repaired right knee on Oct. 25. He then missed a dozen straight games before starting and playing 25 minutes Thursday against the visiting Detroit Pistons. He averaged 8.3 points and 4.3 rebounds in 23.3 minutes in his three previous games back.
Leonard missed all of last season after tearing his right ACL in Game 4 of the Clippers’ second-round series against Utah on June 14, 2021. He said last week that the ACL recovery process generally takes two years to return back to form.
The Clippers, who have had to deal with several disruptions to their rotation due to injuries and minutes restrictions on players, including Leonard and John Wall, also will be without guard Luke Kennard (right calf strain) on Wednesday.