Chris Szagola/Associated Press Kawhi Leonard has been nothing short of spectacular in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, averaging 38 points and nine rebounds per game while shooting a preposterous 62 percent from the field against the Philadelphia 76ers. It's to the point where he's being compared to some of the game's greats. "It's Kobe [Bryant]," Raptors guard Norman Powell said of Leonard's Game 4 performance after a 101-96 win Sunday, per Bruce Arthur of the Toronto Star. "That man is Kobe. He's a superstar, man. He gets after it. He doesn't care who's in front of him. He knows what he's worth, he knows what he can do ... superstars in the league—Kevin Durant, James Harden—he's up with those guys." The key moment of the game came with a little over a minute left in the fourth quarter. Leonard had the ball outside the three-point line with the shot clock running low. Between two defenders, he rose up for a contested three and splashed it, giving the Raptors a four-point lead. 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He never believed he'd miss: "Kobe. It's good. That's what I was saying after he made that. Even when he went up, side-step fadeaway, nothing but net, that's Kobe right there. He was confident in it. You don't see him rushed. You see him look up at the clock before it, he created space, he let it fly. "I mean, he's not worried, man. He's really calm, he's really patient, he doesn't get sped up. Even when he had a late turnover where he dribbled off his foot ... you see guys holding their head, get upset a little bit. But he's going to come right back at you." Even Sixers head coach Brett Brown brought up Bryant when talking about Leonard's Game 4 performance (39 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, 13-of-20 from the field, 5-of-7 from three). "He's punishing, for sure," he said. "You know, the stuff that he can get off, and we had two people out there [on the three], the stuff that he can do to create his own shot is Kobe-like, for me. To your question about who can guard him, funny enough, with our wings, I think we've done a decent job on him ... at the end of the day, that's a hell of a playoff game." The comparison isn't perfect. From a personality standpoint, Leonard and Bryant couldn't be much different. Leonard is quiet and reserved; Bryant was never afraid to speak his mind. But Leonard's steady and consistent dissection of the 76ers defense this postseason has been reminiscent of many of the game's greats, and he's doing it while playing suffocating defense on Ben Simmons and Jimmy Butler. If it weren't for Leonard's legendary series to this point, the Raptors wouldn't have a chance against a talented Sixers team. But he hasn't shown any signs of faltering to this point as the series shifts back to Toronto for Tuesday's Game 5, even at two games apiece.<doc-sep>After their Game 4 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry compared Kawhi Leonard’s dominance to a former teammate of his — Yao Ming. In Game 4, Leonard scored a game-high 39 points on 13-of-20 shooting from the field and 5-of-7 from downtown. He also snagged 14 rebounds and had five assists. After the game, Lowry shared that Leonard’s performance was reminiscent of Yao Ming — Lowry’s teammate back when he was with the Houston Rockets. “Kawhi is dominant, just dominant,” Raptors guard Kyle Lowry told Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com. “I’ve only played with one other guy like that, Yao Ming, where when he got it rolling, you can’t stop him. Kawhi has been doing this for a month.” Leonard has already six 30-point games in the 2019 postseason, breaking the Raptors’ franchise for the most of such game in a single playoffs. In their playoff series with the Sixers, he already registered 150 points, 30 rebounds and 15 assists — making him just the fifth player to accomplish such feat in the first four games of a postseason matchup. The three-time All-Star has been doing this amid playoff-level type of defense. In their series with the Sixers, he’s been matched up with either Ben Simmons or Jimmy Butler — the club’s best defenders. In Game 4, the former Finals MVP saw multiple bodies thrown at him, but he still found a way to counter it by drawing the foul by way of his arsenal of offensive moves. Kyle Lowry undoubtedly sees Kawhi Leonard in another level, and comparing him to Yao Ming proves just that.<doc-sep>
Kawhi Leonard's 3-pointer over Joel Embiid in the closing minute of Game 4 reminded Norman Powell of the former Los Angeles Lakers superstar. Kawhi Leonard's 3-pointer over Joel Embiid in the closing minute of Game 4 reminded Toronto Raptors guard Norman Powell of one of his idols. "Kobe - that man's Kobe," Powell told Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet. "I was like, 'It's good, it's good.' That's what I was saying the whole time after he made that. Even when it went up, man. Little side-step fadeaway, nothing but net. "That's Kobe right there, man." The shot basically won the Toronto Raptors the game, as it put them ahead 94-90 with 1:01 to play. After Tobias Harris missed a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession, the Philadelphia 76ers were forced to intentionally foul the Raptors the rest of the way. The Raptors ended up winning by a final score of 101-96. Leonard did it all for the Raptors in their Game 4 victory. Not only did he score a game-high 39 points on 5-for-7 shooting from the 3-point line, he pulled down 14 rebounds and dished out five assists. That put Leonard in rarefied air, with Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant being the only other players who have ever posted those numbers in a playoff game. Leonard received plenty of praise for his performance, both from his teammates and players on the 76ers. Philadelphia head coach Brett Brown even made the Bryant comparison post-game. "The stuff that [Leonard] can do to create his own shot is Kobe-like for me," he said. "He's just so gifted in relation to doing that." Leonard is now averaging 38.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game against the 76ers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. He'll have an opportunity to add to those numbers on Tuesday, when the Raptors host the 76ers for Game 5 in Toronto.