San Antonio All-Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge out with sore knee

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Leonard told the media last week that he expected to return to the lineup "soon," although he didn't give a target date.

“Obviously, I’m a competitor,” Leonard said. “If I could play, I’m going to go out and play like I did in the nine games, just to test it out. It just wasn’t where we wanted it to be.”

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Starting center Pau Gasol addressed the challenge of playing without Leonard and Aldridge after the Spurs fell to the Lakers 116-112 at the AT&T Center.

"Right now we're missing a couple of guys that are important, one that we've missed all year and another one that's had an incredible year in LaMarcus," Gasol said. "Down the stretch, when the games are close, the team is used to putting the ball in the hands of those players, and they're not there.

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"Our margin of error is very, very small because of our situation and our dynamic right now. We've just got to minimize mistakes. We've got to be really sharp, as much as we can, so we put ourselves in better positions."

A six-time All-Star, Aldridge has carried the Spurs in his third season with the franchise, averaging 22.2 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists. He has anchored the team on both ends of the court, and has often been praised by Popovich for his defense.