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The Clippers have outperformed everyone’s expectations of them and then some. They’re now in a 2-2 deadlock with the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the Playoffs. Kawhi Leonard and company came really close to winning it as well tonight. Ultimately, it didn’t go their way, but Kawhi isn’t one to dwell on what-ifs.

Kawhi and his team fought hard tonight. They went down by 22 at one point in the 4th, and things seemed over. But through sheer determination and a machine-like single-mindedness, the Clippers managed to regain the lead. However, one buzzer-beating dunk from Aaron Gordon sealed the Clippers’ fate and tied the series. It all sounds harrowing, right?

But when a reporter asked the former 2x Finals MVP whether it was “hard to mentally, emotionally not think it could have been three one,” the Clippers star’s response was one we’ve come to expect of him at this point. “No. Not for me. Like I’ve been saying, I’m happy to be out there and play. And it’s still a series, best of three. We’ll see what happens,” said the 2x NBA champion.

This response is classic Kawhi. After all, he’s never been one to wear his heart on his sleeve. He’s so reserved that when the NBA world heard his laugh for the first time, it became a viral meme almost instantly. If anything, it would be concerning if Kawhi had a more emotional outburst about the reporter’s question.

But Kawhi’s nonchalant reaction may not be down only to his reserved persona. No, Kawhi actually found some silver linings in tonight’s loss. And those could’ve been a massive part of the reason why he’s still looking forward despite failing to get the 3-1 lead.

Kawhi Leonard praises his teammates despite losing to the Nuggets

The LA Clippers started tonight’s game well enough. The first half was quite competitive, with Denver only able to take a 2-point lead by the end of the second quarter. Then came the third quarter, and the Clippers lost all sense of what to do on the court. In the third, Nikola Jokić alone scored 14 points, as the Nuggets put 35 on the scoreboard compared to the Clippers’ 17. By the time the quarter ended, the Nuggets had a commanding 85-65 lead.

By now, you may be wondering, “Considering all this, why was Kawhi praising his teammates?” Well, the difficult third quarter they endured only added to Kawhi’s appreciation for his team. He absolutely loved the fact that his team fought so hard in a game that seemed all but lost.

“Just shows that we didn’t, we wasn’t giving up. You know what I mean? I’m proudest to see my teammates still battling in those moments,” said the Clippers forward. More importantly, Kawhi thinks the spirit shown by his teammates tonight can help them in the remaining games in this series. “I mean, it’ll get us a good chance to look at them and see what we did right in those last minutes there and what we did wrong in the beginning. But, yeah, just gotta keep going,” he said.

Reflecting on tonight’s mistakes will certainly give the Clippers some insights into the improvements they can make in Game 5. With how close this series has been, surely all they need is some tweaks to their game plan. They’ve done well to reduce Nikola Jokić’s influence in their games. However, now they know that the Nuggets have other players like Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray who can carry the Nuggets to victory on any given night.

All in all, game 5 in this series may be the decider. And we’ll only find out how Kawhi and the rest of the Clippers bounce back come game time!