First, the “Board Man” got paid. Then he and the Clippers got a win.
On the same day all-star wing Kawhi Leonard signed a three-year contract extension with the Clippers worth $152.3 million, Leonard scored 29 points as his team slowly awoke to outlast the skidding Toronto Raptors, 126-120, at Crypto.com Arena, and improve to 24-13.
Leonard’s curving path to the rim with one minute remaining in the fourth quarter ended with a right-handed dunk for a six-point lead. When that was shaved to three, Leonard drove into the lane, drew a second defender and passed to the open teammate, Paul George, for a swished three-pointer and a restored six-point cushion with 36 seconds to play.