Kawhi Leonard's injury 'very deflating,' Clippers' Ty Lue says

LOS ANGELES — The LA Clippers went from believing they can beat the Phoenix Suns to now wondering if they will have Kawhi Leonard back at some point in the best-of-seven series.

Leonard was ruled out before Game 3 with a sprained right knee, which he aggravated at the end of the Clippers' Game 1 victory and played through in their Game 2 loss, according to Lawrence Frank, the Clippers' president of basketball operations.

Leonard's injury is not related to the torn right ACL injury that kept him out all of last season, a source told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

With Leonard and Paul George (sprained right knee) sidelined, the Clippers put up a fight Thursday night before losing 129-124 to fall behind 2-1 in the first-round series. Devin Booker torched the Clippers for 45 points, and Kevin Durant added 28 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Leonard will be monitored and evaluated daily. He is considered day-to-day, with the Clippers having a quick turnaround before Saturday's 12:30 p.m. PT tipoff for Game 4.

«Symptoms got worse after Game 2,» Frank said before Game 3. «Obviously, if we weren't comfortable with [Leonard] playing [in Game 2], we wouldn't have. But after the game, things didn't get better. They got worse. So we will rule him out and kind of take it day by day.»

After defeating Phoenix in Game 1, Clippers head coach Ty Lue said his team believed it could win the series. Leonard was unstoppable at times, averaging 34.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 2.0 steals while shooting 54.5% from the field in the first two games, adding to his sterling playoff reputation.

But Lue said he learned of Leonard's knee injury on Wednesday night and was informed before the team's Thursday morning shootaround that he