Leonard's last game was on March 31, and the Clippers had learned to win without him. When Leonard went down, they won four of their next five games before resting their key players in their last three regular-season contests. They beat the Mavericks in Game 1 of this series, 109-97.

Leonard's sudden return shocked the Clippers' system. The team's offensive rhythm vanished. The Clippers made only 36.8% of their shots on Tuesday night, their lowest percentage of the season. They made only eight of 30 3-pointers.

Their inability to make shots permitted the Mavericks to win their first game this season in which they scored fewer than 100 points. They were previously 0-8.

"We got pretty stagnant tonight," said Leonard, who was seven of 17 from the field.

James Harden and Paul George scored 22 points each but looked as if they were deferring to Leonard, only this version of Leonard wasn't the same version of Leonard they played alongside for the majority of the season.

Leonard didn't look as if he had his legs under him. By the middle of the third quarter, he looked completely gassed.

Which was understandable.

Asked about where he was from a conditioning standpoint, Leonard replied, "It's my first game in like 20-something days, but I don't know. I'm not measuring it."

He acknowledged that he hadn't done much in the last few weeks.

"I've just been rehabbing, trying to get back on the floor," he said.

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