Now, where was he? Oh, that’s right. The last time Kawhi Leonard met the Golden State Warriors in a post-season game — before Thursday’s Game 1 of the NBA Finals — he was setting the basketball world atwitter by engineering an utter domination.
The previous time Leonard was matched up against the Warriors — back when they were only one championship into winning three of the past four — he was raising the possibility that he was in possession of a potent antidote to what’s become a formidable dynasty. A few minutes into the third quarter of Game 1 of the 2017 Western Conference final, Leonard, playing for the San Antonio Spurs, had reeled off 26 points in 24 minutes on the floor.