CHICAGO — Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard returned against the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night after missing the previous two games because of a sore left foot.
Getting the six-time All-Star back in the lineup was a big lift for a team that had dropped three straight. The Clippers entered play in sixth place in the Western Conference at 31-26.
Leonard sat out three of the previous four games, including road losses at Indiana on Sunday and Detroit on Monday. The two-time NBA champion missed the first nine weeks of the season as he recovered from a right knee injury.
Wednesday’s game was Leonard’s 17th of the season. The 33-year-old entered averaging 16.9 points, third on the team behind Norman Powell and James Harden.
Powell, averaging 24.2 points, missed his fourth game in a row because of a sore left knee. Chicago’s Nikola Vucevic sat out his second straight due to right calf tightness.
