Kawhi Leonard held Kevin Durant to 22 points on 19 shots in a 107-96 win for the Spurs over the Thunder on Saturday night.

“He did the best he could for a young rookie who has never really seen these guys before and really hasn’t practiced any of the defensive strategies we might use,” Gregg Popovich said.

Popovich has repeatedly compared Leonard to Bruce Bowen.

“It starts with his body,” Popovich said. ” He has good size and he’s really long. He’s got huge hands and quick feet and he has a propensity to play defense and he likes the role, kind of like Bruce did. But he’s a lot bigger than Bruce ever was.

“We have to get him as smart as Bruce, but we can only do that through experience and playing.”

Popovich also has been impressed by Leonard’s tenacity.

“Those physical aspects are great and intrinsically, you have a gift for it. He likes to do it,” Popovich said. “And he’s aggressive and not afraid to stick his nose in it. Failure doesn’t bother him. You score on him he doesn’t sulk and say gee coach, this and that. He goes back and tries to do it better.”