LOS ANGELES _ If the Los Angeles Clippers are to indeed enjoy the moment and the process as Kawhi Leonard has suggested, the 6 foot 7 inch forward is who they should follow while on this journey.
Leonard showed them the way again, dropping 32 points on Orlando to pull the Clippers along to a 122-95 victory over the Magic on Thursday night at Staples Center.
It was the fourth consecutive game Leonard has scored at least 30 points in a game, the longest streak for a Clippers player since Elton Brand, who also produced four straight games with 30 or more points from Jan. 30, 2006 to Feb. 5, 2006.
In those last four games, Leonard, who was third in All-Star voting (2,973,076) for Western Conference frontcourt players after the NBA announced the results earlier Thursday afternoon, has amassed 141 total points, for an average of 35.2 points per game.
"We look at ourselves as a work in progress," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said before the game. "But we don't accept that like it's status-quo. We accept that as we're a work in progress and the work word is very important."
Patrick Beverley played another tremendous all-around game. He didn't miss any of his four shots and finished with 10 points. Beverley had six assists in the first quarter, tying his career-high for assists in a quarter.
His defense on Markelle Fultz was telling, because the Magic point guard was coming off a triple-double against the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night when he had 21 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
Beverley did his part to keep Fultz in check with 11 points on five-for-17 shooting.
Montrezl Harrell was a force again off the bench, scoring 21 points. JaMychal Green had a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
The Clippers had their way with the Magic even with Paul George missing his fourth game with a strained left hamstring injury, and with Maurice Harkless missing the second half with a sore lower back.
The Clippers haven't given a timetable for George's return, but the 6-8 forward will travel with the team when they start a six-game trip in New Orleans on Saturday afternoon.
"He's going on the trip," River said. "He's shooting. He's doing some work, but other than that..."
