Kawhi Leonard takes down Gatorade bottles worrying about children in moment reminiscent of Cristiano Ronaldo

LA Clippers star Kawhi Leonard took a page out of Cristiano Ronaldo’s book while speaking to reporters after the third game of the Clippers-Nuggets series on Thursday. Leonard headed to the podium to address reporters after the Clippers won the game 117-83.

Right as he sat down, the 35-year-old removed Gatorade bottles from his table, recreating a moment reminiscent of former Real Madrid legend Cristiano Ronaldo. The Athletic reporter Law Murray posted about this on X.

“Take those gatorades down… kids don’t need to be drinking that,” Kawhi said.

Ronaldo did something similar while representing Portugal at the 2020 Euros. During an interview at the tournament, Cristiano removed Coca-Cola bottles from his table and held up a bottle of water, saying:

“Agua!” Ronaldo said, which is Portuguese for water.

Ronaldo’s gesture caused Coca-Cola a lot of trouble, leading to a significant drop in its market value. Reports suggest Cristiano’s gesture eliminated $4 billion from Coca-Cola’s market value.

Leonard was once again key for the LA Clippers as they defeated the Denver Nuggets to take a 2-1 series lead in the Western Conference first round. The 35-year-old recorded a team-high 21 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists in the win. James Harden also had a stellar night, recording 20 points, nine assists, and six rebounds.

Norman Powell was solid and also finished his night with 20 points. Meanwhile, the Nuggets hung their hopes on Nikola Jokić, who recorded 23 points, 13 assists, and 13 rebounds. Aaron Gordon had 15 points in the loss.

Kawhi Leonard and Co. locked down the Denver Nuggets in game three

Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers didn't do anything extraordinary on offense, yet they won game three against the Denver Nuggets by a big margin because of their defense. Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray seemed to be the only players comfortable on offense. Aaron Gordon shot an abysmal 6-16, with Michael Porter Jr. going 2-9.

For Gordon, this was his first off-night of the playoffs. Meanwhile, Michael Porter Jr. is yet to get into the swing of things, recording 8.3 points and 8.3 rebounds, while shooting 37.5% from the field through his first three games against the Clippers.

As long as Kawhi Leonard and Co. continue to put pressure on the role players, Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray will struggle to lead this team. It'll be interesting to see how the Nuggets deal with the Clippers' suffocating defense in game four.