With just over a minute remaining in the Los Angeles Clippers’ tight win over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday, James Harden lobbed a rainbow-esque pass just inside the perimeter to Kawhi Leonard, who, despite being immediately blitzed by Scottie Barnes, remained unfazed.

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Leonard has made strides to attack quickly in the post this season before the inevitable double-team—part of the reason he’s shooting a career-high 82 percent at the rim. But here, he slowed down and dribbled in space, retreating away from the double by Barnes and Dennis Schroder, before bursting by, with his generally spiritless affectation morphing into a scowl as he slammed a thunderous dunk through the hoop.

This is the Leonard who anchored the Raptors throughout their 2019 title run: steady, unmovable, inevitable—a relentless machine hell-bent on getting exactly what he wants where he wants it, regardless of his opponent’s best-laid plans or how long it takes to get there.

All the while, Clippers coach Ty Lue, with a calm rivaling his superstar’s, stood silently on the sidelines, arms crossed in stoic approval.

This was the promise of the Harden trade: His playmaking genius can project itself onto a talented but disorganized offense, allowing him to strategize—to run the clock and let the game dwindle down, in this case—without overburdening him with the pressure to create, on a night when he was just 5-of-13 from the field.

Since November 17, when Terance Mann replaced Russell Westbrook in the starting lineup, the Clippers are 21-6—the NBA’s best record over that span—with the NBA’s second-best net rating in crunch time.

Leonard, who before Wednesday’s game agreed to a $153 million extension that will lock him in through the 2026-27 season, is resisting any reflection on the Clippers’ recent success or his place in franchise lore. “I’m in the moment this season,” he said after beating the Raptors, “and I’m trying to get us to a place we haven’t been before.”

He was more fixated on the fact that despite the win, the Clippers were sloppy on both ends. “We were in the mud a little bit, moving a little slow and no communication. We have a lot to improve on.”