NBA: Kawhi Leonard wows Embiid with huge dunk for Clippers
Kawhi Leonard scored 31 points on Monday as the LA Clippers tied their NBA playoffs series with the Utah Jazz, and one play particularly stood out.
Kawhi Leonard's spectacular dunk in the Los Angeles Clippers' series-levelling win over the Utah Jazz sent ripples through the NBA, stopping Joel Embiid in his tracks.
"See that Kawhi dunk?" - Embiid impressed by Leonard exploits
Embiid was undertaking post-game media duties after the Philadelphia 76ers were beaten by the Atlanta Hawks, when his attention was diverted by seeing Leonard in full flow. "Oh my god. See that dunk, see that Kawhi dunk?" said Embiid.
Unlike Embiid, Leonard finished on the winning side in Monday’s playoff games, his 31 points helping the Clippers post a 118-104 victory over the Utah Jazz in Game 4 of their Western Conference semi-final.
Leonard's masterpiece came near the end of the second quarter. "I don't get to see the reaction of what's on the web or social media or whatever, but Zu [Ivica Zubac] showed me a clip of Embiid talking, and yeah that's the only thing I got from it. During the game in the heat of the moment I know it's a big play, but you've got to have the next-play mentality because right after I think Joe Ingles came down and hit a three pretty wide open in that corner, so we've still got room for improvement," Leonard said.
Leonard sat out the closing minutes after appearing to hurt his knee, but when asked about the blow after the game he said the knee was "good", eager to move on to the next question.
"I don't care about the Western Conference Finals" - Leonard only interested in NBA title
When asked about the team's prospects of reaching the Western Conference Finals for the first time, Leonard almost scoffed at that being his ambition.
He said: "I don't care about the Western Conference Finals. I'm trying to win a championship. Obviously that's the next step but I'm not even looking at that."
Paul George also scored 31 points as the Clippers edged out the Jazz at Staples Center, teeing up Game 5 in Utah on Wednesday.
Having been 2-0 down in this series, the Clippers have set aside criticism of their slow start to look sharp again.
Leonard indicated he was impervious to external discussion surrounding the team's performance. "I don't even know we took criticism," he said. "I don't know what's going on in the outside world."