Kawhi Leonard stats tonight: Clippers star impresses in injury comeback after 254 days vs Hawks (Jan. 4)

Kawhi Leonard returned to action on Saturday against the Atlanta Hawks after a 254-day hiatus because of injury. The two-time NBA Finals MVP started in his season debut. Despite a lengthy absence, he looked in decent condition.

Leonard finished with 12 points, three rebounds, one assist and one steal. He had two turnovers and a foul in 19:25 minutes of action. Leonard shot 4 of 11, including 3 of 5 from 3 and 1 of 3 from the free-throw line.

The Clippers won the contest 131-105 in his season debut.

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Kawhi Leonard's season debut recap

Leonard looked solid from the get-go. In his first seven minutes of action, Leonard knocked down a 3 on his first attempt of the night over the top of a defender.

The Clippers had him go to the bench at the 7:18 mark. He had three points, two rebounds, one assist, one turnover and one personal foul. Leonard had a box +/- score of +6. He shot 1 of 3.

Kawhi Leonard had an even more productive run in the second quarter. He added six points, two rebounds and a steal, shooting 2 of 5 after making both his shots from the 3-point attempt. His +/- surged by +21 in that span as the Clippers took a 74-54 lead into the halftime break.

Across both quarters, Leonard played 15:49 minutes, tallying nine points, three rebounds, one assist, one steal, two turnovers and one personal foul. He had a +/- of +27.

Kawhi played for four minutes in the third quarter before calling it a night. He looked impressive in the limited shift after scoring off a floater and then making a free throw attempt.

The Clippers were in a comfortable spot with Norman Powell, James Harden and Ivica Zubac, putting in a solid shift. Powell had another 20-point outing as he led the Clippers in scoring. Meanwhile, Harden had 10 points and 15 assists and Zubac finished with 18 points and 18 rebounds on 9 of 11 shots.

Eight players scored 10+ points for LA. The Clippers improved to 20-15. They remain in the seventh spot in the West.