Kawhi Leonard receives eight stitches: ‘He’s going to be fine’

Kawhi Leonard went down in a very scary moment during a Christmas game against the Denver Nuggets, but fortunately, he’s okay.

During the fourth quarter, Leonard collided with Serge Ibaka’s elbow and suddenly went down with blood coming out of his mouth. At the moment of impact, the scenario seemed terrifying. Here’s a look at the injury:

Fortunately for the Clippers, head coach Ty Lue said that Leonard is going to be fine. He ultimately received eight stitches and suffered a mouth laceration from the elbow. Nicolas Batum also stated some good news postgame as he said Leonard was in the locker room with the rest of the team.

“This is the moments where you get to learn who you are,” Batum said.

The Clippers were up 11 points with 6:07 left in the game when the injury happened. Jamal Murray was in the middle of heating up and suddenly cut the 20 point lead into a near single-digit game. All signs were pointing towards a Nuggets’ comeback. Although it’s early in the season, it was a very defining moment for the Clippers – it could have easily been a repeat of last year against the Nuggets. 

“Nothing was said,” Ty Lue said about the huddle. “Next man up.”

Paul George and the Clippers played a near perfectly executed game, with everyone moving the ball and hitting timely shots. The end result was a much-needed victory against a Denver team that the Clippers needed to prove themselves against.

The Clippers’ next game is against the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday. As of right now, there’s no update on if Kawhi Leonard will play that game. Even if he doesn’t, Clipper fans can all breathe a sigh of relief that he only suffered a mouth laceration.