Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard earns high praise from Kevin Durant: ‘One of the greatest of all time’

Kawhi Leonard reminded everyone on Wednesday night that the ending still belongs to him.

Down most of the night in Houston, the Clippers leaned into the obvious. Give Kawhi the ball. Clear the floor. Trust the résumé.

With 2 seconds left, Leonard spun through traffic, rose over pressure and drilled a 13-foot turnaround that became a three-point play. Clippers win, 105-102. No drama. Just inevitability.

“I tried to get something going left, saw the double-team,” Leonard said. “So I spun and got to a spot.”

That spot has paid the bills for a decade.

Leonard finished with 27 points, 19 of them in the fourth quarter, capping his 33rd straight 20-point game. It was vintage Kawhi after a forgettable first three quarters, when Houston threw everything at him and he managed just eight points.

Didn’t matter.

“That’s part of it,” Leonard said, via ESPN’s Michael C. Wright. “You’ve got to keep shooting.”

The Clippers did more than survive. They imposed themselves late. Leonard scored on his first four shots of the fourth. A finger roll gave LA its first second-half lead. From there, it was control.

“He’s a shotmaker,” Kevin Durant said. “One of the greatest of all time.”

Since Dec. 20, the Clippers are 20-7. In clutch games during that stretch, they’re perfect.

Kris Dunn summed it up best. “Give him the ball and get out of the way.”

Some endings never change.