James Harden defends Kawhi Leonard from the always 'negative' narrative

The Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets have played the most entertaining first-round series of the NBA postseason so far. The teams have traded blow for blow in a battle of hard-fought, high-level basketball as the series moves to L.A. tied at 1-1.

Monday's Game 2 at Ball Arena ultimately became more than a playoff game. It ended up being a celebration of one of the league's most dominant players when healthy.

MORE: Jeff Van Gundy has hilarious playoff confrontation with Nikola Jokic

And with the way Kawhi Leonard made plays on both ends of the floor late, it very much felt like a throwback performance from his past postseason successes.

Leonard put on a mesmerizing display of shooting in the Clippers' 105-102 victory, converting 15 of his 19 attempts from the field to score a game-high 39 points. He became just the fifth player in NBA playoff history to go for 39 and shoot 78.9 percent.

Kawhi Leonard dropped 39 PTS on 78.9 FG% tonight!

He's the 5th player in NBA PLAYOFF HISTORY to score 39+ PTS on 78.9+ FG% 🎯

He joins:

Devin Booker (2023)
Dirk Nowitzki (2011)
Elton Brand (2006)
Terry Porter (1992) https://t.co/q3thl5w1rE pic.twitter.com/tdZoJn9qWE
— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) April 22, 2025

Leonard's domination of the Nuggets was exactly what the Clippers envisioned when they landed him in free agency in 2019. There haven't been enough of those nights because of the 33-year-old's struggles with injuries. He played only two games in last year's first-round series defeat to the Dallas Mavericks due to knee inflammation, which also forced him to miss the first two months of this season.

The lack of availability and unfulfilled postseason expectations have summed up Leonard's tenure in Clipperland. In his postgame availability, James Harden called out Leonard's critics who dwell on the "negative."

Asked if Leonard gets enough appreciation for working his way back from injury, Harden said no. "Not even a little bit. It's always negative," he added.

"It's always what he's been through and what he's not able to do just because of something he can't control," Harden said of Leonard's long injury history. "But we don't appreciate how great he is when he's actually out there and putting on performances like this tonight."

James Harden says Kawhi Leonard doesn’t get the appreciation he deserves.

“Not even a little bit. It’s always negative. It’s always what he’s been through and what he’s not able to do. Just because of something he can’t control. But we don’t appreciate how great he is when he’s… pic.twitter.com/Fn3cmRBcsD
— Joey Linn (@joeylinn_) April 22, 2025

Leonard felt grateful that Harden had his back. He's also just happy to be completely healthy again in the postseason.

"It's great," Leonard said of Harden's support. "Anybody in the business that’s playing knows how hard it is to either come back from injury or just even play in the NBA. They understand what we all go through, what I go through.

"To see that from your peers, and hear that from him, it’s great. I told several people before, just thanks for helping me through stuff and time with injuries.”

Kawhi Leonard on James Harden saying he isn’t appreciated enough:

“It’s great. Anybody in the business that’s playing knows how hard it is to either come back from injury or just even play in the NBA. They understand what we all go through, what I go through. To see that from… pic.twitter.com/9xY7DLQgZx
— Joey Linn (@joeylinn_) April 22, 2025