Through four games, reigning Defensive Player of the Year Kawhi Leonard has done an amazing job defending his crown. Leonard shut down Kevin Durant (6-of-19 shooting) and Joe Johnson (1-of-7 shooting) in the San Antonio Spurs' first two games of the season. Next up: Carmelo Anthony in New York.
Watch Kawhi Leonard ruin Carmelo Anthony’s night
The Defensive Player of the Year locked down his next victim: Knicks star Carmelo Anthony.
In the Spurs' 94-84 victory at Madison Square Garden, Leonard spearheaded a strong defensive effort that held Anthony to 19 points on 4-of-17 shooting. This happened one game after Melo exploded for 37 points against the Washington Wizards. The Spurs' soft-spoken star recorded four blocks and two steals to go along with his 18 points and 14 rebounds, and three of those blocks were swats of Anthony.
The first block came less than five minutes into the game when Anthony posted up Leonard on the block and tried to shoot a fadeaway jumper over him. Nope:
On the next one, Anthony got the ball at the elbow, faced up Leonard and drove to the basket. It ended poorly:
Leonard’s last pack of Anthony was just flat out mean:
Kawhi Leonard sure knows how to ruin somebody's life. The 24-year-old is the best wing defender in the league, and it's shown thus far this season. The Spurs have given up just over 86 points per 100 possessions with Leonard on the floor per NBA.com, and opponents are shooting under 23 percent when he's defending them. He's also currently one of only two players in the league who's averaging two blocks and two steals a game, per Basketball Reference.
On Monday night, Anthony learned the hard way what happens when you go up against this defensive freak of nature.
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