Kawhi Leonard said the boos from San Antonio Spurs fans were music to his ears after he returned to haunt his former team on Saturday.

Leonard celebrated his first victory at AT&T Center since leaving San Antonio to join the Toronto Raptors in July 2018 as the Los Angeles Clippers thrashed the Spurs 134-109.

The small forward scored a game-high 26 points, revelling in the jeers he was subjected to by Spurs supporters.

Leonard, who left the Raptors after helping them win a maiden NBA title last season, enjoyed being targeted by the San Antonio crowd as the Clippers improved to 22-9.

"The boos is just love," Leonard said. "Just taking it as that, I'm here for a reason, to win a ball game.

"It only can make me better and make our team better with the crowd not being on our side."

Leonard added: "It's a part of the game. It's the type of player I am, just the way I probably left and how it was portrayed.

"I don't make no sense of it. I know it's a game and it's competitive. When we're not playing or if I'm walking on the street and I see somebody from San Antonio, they thank me for everything I did.

"They respect the way I played when I was here."