Now, where was he? Oh, that’s right. Before Kawhi Leonard’s 2017 playoff run was so rudely interrupted by Zaza Pachulia’s dubiously aggressive close-out, the last time Leonard met the Golden State Warriors in a post-season game he was setting the basketball world atwitter by engineering an utter domination.
The last time Leonard was matched up against the Warriors — back when they were only one championship into winning three of the past four — he was raising the possibility that he was in possession of a potent antidote to what’s become a formidable dynasty. A few minutes into the third quarter of Game 1 of the 2017 Western Conference final, Leonard, playing for the San Antonio Spurs, had reeled off 26 points in 24 minutes on the floor.