Manu Ginobili Talks Kawhi Leonard's Injury and His Impact on Spurs After Game 1

An injury to Kawhi Leonard hurt the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 against the Golden State Warriors Sunday, and Manu Ginobili wasn't afraid to admit the significance.

Leonard could not return after tweaking his ankle injury in the third quarter against the Golden State Warriors. When asked about the impact of the player's absence, Ginobili called it "huge."

"We need Kawhi to create, to score," the veteran explained, per NBA TV. "He means a lot to this team and we were doing really well when he went down. ... We struggled a lot without him and it's a tough break. He's coming from an injury in that ankle and he tweaked it twice in the last minute he played, so we couldn't react to his absence."

The Warriors came away with a 113-111 win to go up 1-0 in the Western Conference Finals.

The Spurs were up 78-55 when Leonard left the game a few minutes into the second half but were outscored 58-33 the rest of the way.

Ginobili scored 17 points, but it wasn't enough to avoid the late collapse.

San Antonio was able to close out the second round with a 39-point road win over the Houston Rockets without Leonard. However, the Warriors clearly represent a much tougher opponent with nine straight wins to start the postseason.

Considering the All-Star's impact on both ends of the court, an extended absence could be devastating.