“I don’t want to be too dramatic—it should be like a Game 7 kind of vibe,” said Stephen Curry before the Golden State Warriors’ matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers. Being the Bay Area franchise’s last game of the season, the stakes were higher for this game than any typical regular-season matchup. After all, the Warriors held the 6th seed but, at the same time, were tied with the Minnesota Timberwolves by holding the same 48-33 (.593) win record. A loss would result in the Warriors having to make their way to the playoffs through the Play-In series first. Therefore, even with an injured Stephen Curry, the team looked to give their best going into the game. However, they faced stiff competition from Ivica Zubac and Kawhi Leonard. The duo’s performance caused them to receive praise from a former player and a renowned ESPN sportscaster.
Udonis Haslem and Stephen A. Smith discussed the Warriors-Clippers clash as the matchup was at the halftime stage. During the same time, the 3x NBA champion gave his praise to Jimmy Butler, the player who was previously associated with Haslem’s old home: the Miami Heat. However, after highlighting how Jimmy ignited the Warriors’ offense, he also praised Kawhi as he “just got it going early”. Smith was certainly in awe of Kawhi Leonard. This led him to remark, judging from the sportscaster’s previous comments about the Clippers’ player, not many would have expected him to make.
“I mean, Kawhi Leonard, I mean, if this brother stay healthy, I might start talking about the Clippers,” said Smith, in his classic attention-catching tone. Since the start of the soon-to-conclude NBA regular season, Stephen A. Smith has shown himself to be not the biggest fan of Kawhi Leonard. After reports emerged, back in late October, that Leonard was sidelined indefinitely due to knee inflammation, the sportscaster went on the record to state that “I can make a legitimate argument that Kawhi Leonard is the worst superstar in the history of any sport”.
More recently, a little after mid-March, Smith once again brought attention upon himself by claiming “The reason I’m not sold on the Clippers is because I’m just looking at my watch and I’m just looking at the dates and the calendar and I’m just waiting for Kawhi Leonard to get hurt”. Yikes! Additionally, Smith added that “I know that come playoff time, he’s not going to be available”. As Michael Scott would say, “Well, well, well. How the turntables”.
Not too many guys can deal with Jimmy Butler & Draymond Green hounding them. Kawhi Leonard is one of the best to ever do it. https://t.co/XnO57VGdYD pic.twitter.com/ci9DsZcgc3
— TJ (@TraMurr) April 13, 2025
To be fair, Kawhi Leonard had delivered a redeeming performance throughout the Warriors-Clippers game. As 1:42 minutes remained in the 4th quarter, the Warriors were leading 111-109. Kawhi Leonard, with 42:08 minutes of on-court time, had scored 32 points by recording 13-17 (76.5%) field goals, 4-7 (57.1%) 3-pointers, and 2-3 (66.7%) free throws. Additionally, the player had also recorded 5 rebounds and 7 assists. His efforts played a big role in the Clippers eventually tying off the game with the Warriors through a 111-111 score. Therefore, if there ever was a time for Stephen A. Smith to change his tune, it was certainly now.
Even before the game’s conclusion, the Clippers were winning. After all, Kawhi Leonard was already receiving praise from Stephen A. Smith. However, even Udonis Haslem was highlighting just how much of a headache other Clippers stars were being to Steve Kerr.
Steve Kerr requested the Warriors to keep their ‘aggressiveness’ as Udonis Haslem praised Ivica Zubac’s prowess
While Stephen A. Smith was focused on Kawhi Leonard, Udonis Haslem alternated between the Clippers star and his teammate Ivica Zubac. The former player wanted to know the Warriors’ plans for Zubac, since the player had recorded 12 points and 9 rebounds in the first half itself. As Haslem further added, “Plus 15 Zubac on the floor, minus 15 for Golden State with Steph Curry on the floor”.
While James Harden led the scoring effort with his 39 points, both Kawhi Leonard and Ivica Zubac led in providing the additional points to the Clippers’ overall total. Over 42:15 minutes of playtime, Zubac scored 22 points by going 11-16 (68.8%) with his field goals. Additionally, Zubac also made a whopping 17 rebounds along with 3 assists. By half-time, Steve Kerr had begun to see how things were flailing for his Warriors squad. According to a leaked audio, he was heard saying to his players, “Do not lose your aggressiveness, all right. Don’t lose your aggressiveness. We gotta stop, we pushing it… now we are just making good decisions in transition. Keep the pressure on, all right?”
Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
In the end, the Warriors did show aggressiveness, but the Clippers squad showed it more. The game went into overtime, and the Clippers won the matchup by a 124-119 score. Now, the Warriors will have to go through the Play-In series. Whether this win results in Stephen A. Smith further giving his flowers to Kawhi Leonard is something that remains to be seen.
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