WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard said Wednesday he expects to be on the court for a crucial NBA playoff game against the Houston Rockets despite a left ankle injury.
Leonard rolled his ankle with 5:37 remaining in the third quarter Tuesday and while he played half of the fourth quarter he was absent for over-time as the Spurs defeated visiting Houston 110-107.
That gave the Spurs a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference series ahead of Thursday’s game six at Houston, with San Antonio needing only one more victory to book a date with Golden State in the Western Conference finals.
“Yeah, I’m going to be able to play,” Leonard said. “It was frustrating because I wanted to play. But I was happy seeing my teammates out there putting in a good effort and getting the win.”
Leonard was hurt when he stepped down on the foot of Houston’s James Harden while turning to run up the court. Leonard limped back to the bench during the next stoppage in play and re-entered the game but did not score after a layup with 1:59 to play in the third quarter.
Despite the setback, Leonard led the Spurs with 22 points and 15 rebounds in game five. He is averaging 27.8 points, 7.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists during this playoff run.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said Leonard wanted to keep playing but that the staff decided to bench him.
“He has had issues and you could tell just before he took a couple of shots he jumped off one foot,” Popovich said. “He didn’t want to come out, obviously. We let him play a little while just to see what he was going to be like, but it was obvious that he couldn’t go. So I think everybody else picked it up very well.”
