Kawhi Leonard is fresh in mind and body as the streaking Los Angeles Clippers open the playoffs

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Kawhi Leonard is fresh in mind and body this year, no longer relegated to watching from the sideline when the Los Angeles Clippers begin the postseason.

After appearing in just two playoff games over the last two years, the 33-year-old two-time Finals MVP is healthy and looking like his old self as the fifth-seeded Clippers take on the fourth-seeded Nuggets in the first round starting Saturday in Denver.

“Just happy that I was able to get here,” he said. “My teammates did a great job down that last stretch.”

The Clippers have been a much different team since Leonard got healthy and found his rhythm. He missed the first 34 games of the season because of lingering issues with his surgically repaired knees.

Los Angeles won 18 of its final 21 games, a stretch in which it had the NBA's No. 1 offense.

“It feels good for us and him playing at a high level helps our team out tremendously,” coach Tyronn Lue said. “I'm happy for him for all the hard work he's put in to get to this point and to be healthy at the end of the season.”

Leonard won two NBA championships — one with San Antonio and another with Toronto — but his health has been a major issue during his five years in Los Angeles.

In 2020-21, he hurt his knee in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals against Utah and missed the rest of the series. The Clippers advanced to the conference finals for the first time in franchise history and lost to Phoenix.

Leonard sat out the entire 2021-22 season while rehabbing his knee. He came back strong in 2022-23 only to tear his meniscus in the first round of the playoffs. Last season, he hurt his right knee and played in just two games as the Clippers lost in the first round to Dallas.

“I love the game and I have a passion for it still,” he said. “I love to compete out there, so that's pretty much what drives me back. Everything has its ups and downs and you got to go through those in life. You just keep going.”

Leonard has said the Clippers allowed him to seek outside opinions on his health and then blend that information with the team's medical staff to get healthy.

“The biggest thing is just trusting,” Lue said, crediting medical staff president Maggie Bryant with showing Leonard different ways he could do things to be healthy at the end of the 82-game regular season.

“They didn't let him shortcut, checked every box before he came back and he's been feeling good,” Lue said.

All the injury and strife has crystalized Leonard's focus.

“Just don't take the opportunity for granted and try to play my best and that's it,” he said. “Just having fun.”

Leonard has always come to play in the postseason, averaging 29.3 points while shooting 63% in 60 games between 2017 and 2020.

“It's just leaving it all out on the floor and then just going into the summer knowing that you tried to give it your all,” he said.

The Clippers begin the postseason as the league's hottest team, having won eight in a row. Leonard scored 33 points on 13 of 20 shooting in an overtime win at Golden State to close out the regular season.

“You can just tell when he's able to play and be healthy and play the game he loves at the level that he knows he can play at,” teammate Norman Powell said.

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Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard, right, moves the ball while defended by Golden State Warriors guard Moses Moody during the second half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 13, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Golden State Warriors' Mose Moody and Jimmy Butler III defend against Los Angeles Clippers' Kawhi Leonard in the second quarter of an NBA game in San Francisco Sunday, April 13, 2025. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) moves the ball while defended by Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) during overtime of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 13, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) get looked at by the medics during second half of an NBA basketball game against theSacramento Kings, Friday, April 11, 2025, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Scott Marshall)

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A gas cylinder explosion early Sunday after a wedding reception at a home in Pakistan’s capital killed at least eight people, including the bride and groom, police and officials said.

The blast occurred as guests who had gathered to celebrate the couple were sleeping at the house, causing part of the house to collapse, according to the Islamabad police. Seven people were injured.

In a statement, police said the explosion occurred in a residential area in the heart of the city. A government administrator, Sahibzada Yousaf, said authorities were alerted about the blast early Sunday and officers are still investigating. He said some nearby homes were also damaged.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed grief over the loss of lives and offered condolences to the victims’ families, according to a statement from his office. He directed health authorities to ensure the injured receive the best possible treatment and ordered a full investigation.

Many Pakistani households rely on liquefied petroleum gas cylinders because of low natural gas pressure, and such cylinders have been linked to deadly accidents caused by gas leaks. Police said investigations were ongoing.

Government officials survey the damage of a home caused by a gas cylinder explosion hours after a wedding reception, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ehsan Shahzad)