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Kawhi: Clippers 'got a lot of fight left' down 0-2 to Jazz

Adam Pantozzi / National Basketball Association / Getty

Kawhi Leonard refuses to panic after his Los Angeles Clippers fell behind 2-0 in their Western Conference semifinal series against the Utah Jazz on Thursday.

"We all got to put our will out on the floor," Leonard told reporters postgame, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. "You know, see what we did in the first two games and try to limit our mistakes and just keep going on from there, pretty much.

"We'll see (on Friday) what we got to do, and we've got a lot of fight left. So you know, we're up for the challenge."

Leonard recorded 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the field to go with five assists and four rebounds in Game 2. Reggie Jackson and Paul George led the Clippers with 29 and 27 points, respectively, but it wasn't enough to overcome the effort from Jazz star Donovan Mitchell, who scored 37 points after his 45-point outburst in Game 1.

The 117-111 loss means the Clippers need to overcome a 2-0 series deficit again after having to do the same versus the Dallas Mavericks in the first round. History isn't on their side, however; dating back to its existence as the Buffalo Braves, the franchise has never progressed past the second round of the playoffs.

The Jazz are also a much more challenging opponent than the Mavericks, who finished the regular season five games back of the Clippers. After Utah moved into first place in late January, it rarely relinquished the top seed during the final four months of the season and finished with the NBA's best record at 52-20.

"We've got to give them credit," George said about the Jazz. "This is a tough opponent. They weren't No. 1 in the West for no reason. ... But, you know, we are approaching this the same way Dallas was - we still feel we have a lot of possessions that we can clean up, a lot of possessions that are hurting us that's our fault."

Game 3 will tip off Saturday at Staples Center.

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