Kawhi Leonard and Norman Powell will remind Toronto Raptors fans of their team’s better days when the Los Angeles Clippers visit on Sunday afternoon.
Leonard and Powell were with the Raptors when they won their only NBA championship in 2019.
The Clippers arrive in Toronto seeking a third straight win after defeating the Charlotte Hornets 112-104 on Friday to go 2-1 on a four-game trip that ends Sunday.
Powell had 27 points and Leonard added 21 to lead the Clippers in scoring. Leonard was playing his 10th game since returning from knee surgery.
Leonard was the key player in the championship season, his only campaign with Toronto before he became a free agent and joined the Clippers. The small forward won his second Bill Russell Trophy as the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player after the Raptors downed the Golden State Warriors.
Powell was another key player in the title drive. The Raptors acquired him in a draft-day trade with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2015 and traded him to the Portland Trail Blazers in 2021.
“Everybody knows how I feel about Toronto,” Powell said. “But focused on getting a win. I already had my tribute video, already had my tribute time there.”
Powell leads the Clippers in scoring at 24.1 points per game, but he was not selected to play in the All-Star Game.
“He’s been great,” Leonard said of his teammate. “He’s been playing this way the last two or three years for us. Now he’s getting more minutes and shot attempts.”
Disappointed by the decision, Powell’s focused on his team’s push toward the postseason.
“I definitely feel like I should’ve made it,” Powell said. “Just where we are as a team and where people thought we were going to be before the season. It’s tough, but it is what it is. I can’t control that. Just try to move on and focus on the end goal, and that’s getting into the playoffs and winning a championship.”
The Raptors have had better results as a team recently compared to when they lost 105-103 to the Clippers in Los Angeles on Nov. 9.
They had a five-game winning streak end on Friday in a 122-106 loss to the Chicago Bulls in the opener of a four-game homestand. The Clippers have won eight of 11.
Toronto had Immanuel Quickley back in the lineup after his latest injury, a nagging groin ailment. He has played only 10 games this season.
Quickley scored 13 of his 14 points in the first half and was limited to 15 minutes, 27 seconds of playing time as he is eased back into competition.
“A lot of his injuries this year were unfortunate mechanical injuries,” Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said. “I think all we have to do is really be intentional with how to rebuild him back — how to get his conditioning, his rhythm, how to incorporate him with the team. I know that he’s going to do everything in his power to get his rhythm back and get back performing at a high level.”
Quickley looked sharp, going 5-for-8 from the field, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range.
“I mean, playing with great players, it’s not hard to really fit in with the guys,” Quickley said. “You know with the standard they’ve been setting while I was out defensively, just picking up the effort that everyone has been playing with. You just have to match that. Playing with a lot of energy puts you in a rhythm, for sure.”
The Raptors trailed 55-50 at halftime but were outscored 33-24 in the third quarter when their energy level declined.
“I thought, especially in the first half, we did a really good job,” Rajakovic said.
–Field Level Media
