Kawhi Leonard to Clippers: ‘Dial in deeper’ without George

LOS ANGELES (AP) — That sound heard this weekwas the Los Angeles Clippers breathing a sigh of relief that PaulGeorge’s knee injury wasn’t as devastating as it firstappeared.

The All-Star guard suffered a sprained right knee after goingdown hard in the closing minutes of a one-point loss to theOklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday.

An MRI showed no major structural damage, and depending upon hiscondition when he’s reevaluated in two to three weeks, George couldbe back in time for the first round of the playoffs that beginApril 15.

“We got the best-case scenario as far as what we thought itcould be,” coach Tyronn Lue said. “His spirits are down, but that’sto be expected when it’s late in the season and when you want tohelp your team.”

In the meantime, plenty of minutes are available for the taking.Eric Gordon started in George’s place in a 127-105 win over theThunder on Thursday, and he’ll keep that spot while George is out.Reserve Bones Hyland led the bench with 16 points in his firstaction since March 3.

“Nobody’s head was down,” All-Star Kawhi Leonard said. “One mancan’t win these basketball games. We’re going to have to come inwith a great effort.”

Leonard hit his first seven shots and finished with 32 points on15 shots against the Thunder.

“This is what we need from him every night,” Lue said ofLeonard.

Russell Westbrook is averaging 14.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 7.3assists through 13 games since leaving the Lakers last month.

“He brings energy and pace to the team and plays both ends ofthe floor,” Leonard said. “He’s been doing a good job.”

The Clippers, who host New Orleans on Saturday, are currentlyfourth in the Western Conference with a 39-35 record with eightgames remaining in the regular season.

“Losing PG is tough in itself, but we just got to rallytogether,” Westbrook said. “I got to be more aggressive and findways to be effective on both ends.”

It’s not the first time the Clippers have been without one oftheir two superstars.

Leonard tore his right ACL in the second round against Utah in2021. The Clippers still advanced to the conference finals for thefirst time in franchise history before losing in six games. Hemissed all last season rehabilitating after surgery.

George carried the load, but not without absences. He missedthree months because of a torn ligament in his elbow and he sat outthe team’s loss in the second play-in game after testing positivefor COVID-19.

“We got to keep sharing the ball and just dial in even deeperand come into these games more focused because we’re missing asuperstar,” Leonard said.