an elbow to the face from teammate Serge Ibaka, causing a facial injury which forced Leonard out of the game early. Leonard suffered a wound in his mouth as a result of his injury, which required him to get eight stitches. After being absent for two games due to the injury, Leonard returned to the Clippers wearing a clear plastic mask with a 128–105 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on December 30, recording a game-high 28 points and seven assists. Playing in 52 out of the 72 regular season games, Leonard led the Clippers to a 47–25 record and the fourth-place finish in the Western Conference. For the season he averaged 24.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and a career-high 5.2 assists. After his stellar play on both ends of the floor, he was awarded with his seventh All-Defensive Team selection and fifth All-NBA Team selection third All-NBA First Team. In the first round of the 2021 NBA playoffs the Clippers faced the Dallas Mavericks for the rematch of the previous year. After losing the first two games at home, the Clippers bounced back with Leonard scoring 36 and 29 points respectively in games played in Dallas to even the series. After dropping Game 5, Leonard led the Clippers in the elimination Game 6, tying his career-high 45 points and subsequently recorded 28 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists and four steals in the decisive Game 7 win, to advance to the next round. In the Western Conference Semifinals the Clippers were again facing a 0–2 deficit at the beginning of the series, this time to the first-seeded Utah Jazz. Leonard led another comeback while scoring 34 and 31 points respectively in convincing victories at home to even the series. He, however, got injured at the end of Game 4 after being fouled by Joe Ingles. Leonard was ruled out for the remainder of the series with a knee sprain, as the Clippers won the next two games and advanced to the first Western Conference Finals in franchise history. The Clippers' playoffs run was then cut short by the Phoenix Suns in six games, with Leonard unable to recover and missing the entire series. On July 13, Leonard underwent surgery to repair a partial tear of the ACL in his right knee. 2021–22: Year absence After opting out of the final year of his original contract, Leonard re-signed with the Clippers on