Kawhi Leonard out for Clippers’ Game 1 vs. Mavericks as injury lingers

Kawhi Leonard, who has been struggling with knee inflammation, will not play in Game 1 of the Los Angeles Clippers’ NBA playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.

Leonard missed the Clippers’ final eight games of the regular season and hasn’t logged an appearance since March 31.

Leonard played 68 games this season, the most he has logged since the 2016-17 season.

He averaged 23.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game this season.

For his efforts, Leonard was named an NBA All-Star for the first time since 2021, and the sixth time in his career.

The fourth-seeded Clippers will host the fifth-seeded Mavericks in Game 1 at 3:30 p.m. on ABC in Western Conference first-round series.

This will be the third time in five seasons that the teams play each other in the first round.

The Clippers won each of the previous two series the teams have faced off in during that period, beating the Mavericks in six games during the 2020 NBA Playoffs and in seven the following season.