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Spurs' Leonard will not play in Game 2, Popovich says

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This is terrible news for fans of the San Antonio Spurs and of competitive NBA basketball.

Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich announced in a heated rant after practice Monday that Kawhi Leonard will not play in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals against the Golden State Warriors.

Leonard aggravated his ankle injury after landing on Zaza Pachulia's foot. Popovich slammed Pachulia for making a "totally unnatural closeout" on the play as Leonard landed awkwardly on his already hobbled ankle.

The Spurs led by 23 points midway through the third quarter before Leonard was forced to exit. That opened the floodgates for the Warriors to mount a massive comeback to steal Game 1.

Leonard finished with 26 points, eight rebounds, and three assists along with a perfect 11-of-11 from the charity stripe in 24 minutes.

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