NBA report: Spurs star Kawhi Leonard to miss Game 6 against Rockets because of sprained ankle

San Antonio All-Star Kawhi Leonard won’t play in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Houston Rockets because of a sprained left ankle as the Spurs try to close out the series.

The Spurs’ MVP candidate was hurt when he stepped on James Harden’s foot about midway through the third quarter of a Game 5 win that put San Antonio up 3-2 on Tuesday.

Leonard played limited minutes for the rest of regulation and did not play in overtime.

Jonathon Simmons will start in his place Thursday night.

Leonard’s injury is another blow to a team already without Tony Parker, who sustained a season-ending quadriceps injury in Game 2.

Bradley making a difference

Avery Bradley has been doing all the little things to get the Boston Celtics over the hump this postseason.

Yes, he created a buzz with his playoff-career high 29 points to give Boston a 3-2 lead over the Washington Wizards while backcourt mate Isaiah Thomas was facing double- and triple-team defenses during Game 5.

But it’s been Bradley’s consistency on defense during the first two rounds that has the top-seeded Celtics on the verge of an Eastern Conference finals matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Despite playing after suffering his second hip pointer injury of the series, Bradley annoyed Wizards’ point guard John Wall throughout.

The primary defender on Wall, he helped hold Washington’s All-Star to just 21 points and 17 field goal attempts. He also limited him to a playoff-low four assists — well below Wall’s playoff average of 11.1. In Boston’s three wins, Wall has a plus/minus of minus-17.

“Avery’s the best on-the-ball defender in the NBA — hands down,” Thomas said. “A guy like John Wall you’re not gonna stop. He does a hell of a job on him. He makes it tough. Nothing’s easy. And that’s what Avery Bradley does, each and every night.”

Bradley said he was inspired by text messages he got from Thomas and Celtics’ television play-by-play man Mike Gorman.

“They told me they felt like it was going to be a big game for me,” Bradley said of his Game 5 performance. “My mindset was just to come out and be aggressive. I wanted to make those guys work on both ends of the floor.”