BROOKLYN -- After the Brooklyn Nets defeated the shorthanded but pesky Trail Blazers Monday night, All-Star Damian Lillard sought out Meyers Leonard near midcourt at Barclays Center.

The scoreboard read 106-96 in favor of the Nets, an inevitable result considering LaMarcus Aldridge, Nicolas Batum and Chris Kaman were in Portland enjoying a little San Antonio Spurs-style late-season rest, but this was no time for negativity. Not after the fight the Blazers had shown. Not after the monster night Leonard had produced.

So Lillard sauntered up to Leonard and stood inches from the 7-foot-1 center's face, tapping Leonard's chest multiple times for effect as he said a few words.

"Even though we lost," Lillard said, "that was a big-time game for you. Keep playing hard. Keep learning. And keep being aggressive."

No matter what happens in the playoffs, when the Blazers will fight without injured starter Wesley Matthews and backup wing Dorell Wright, the franchise can take comfort in at least one important development: Leonard has finally stopped being a punching bag and started to fulfill his immense potential. His development from a naive 20 year-old rookie has taken a significant turn this season, and the player who elicited endless venom from snarky bloggers and regular vitriol from impatient fans has morphed into a contributing factor during his third NBA season.

There wasn't an ah-hah moment that transformed Leonard's career. His development is simply the result of diligent work over the course of three seasons, an emotional span that has tested his patience, challenged his resolve and required mental maturity. Monday night's performance against the Nets, when Leonard finished with a season-high 17 points, a career-high 15 rebounds, four assists and two steals, all while making 8 of 13 shots -- including a three-pointer -- was merely the latest and greatest example of his emergence and growth.

It wasn't easy, but by leaning on the message of his favorite bible passage, working his rear end off and remaining confident that those two things -- hard work and faith -- was enough, Leonard has defied his detractors and started to justify his No. 11 overall selection in the 2012 NBA Draft.

"We've said it from the beginning that it was going to take some time," coach Terry Stotts said "He's young, he's a big man, he didn't have a lot of experience. Things haven't come easy, but he's put in more work than anyone could imagine behind the scenes. It's good to see that all the work he's putting in is paying off."

Faith, hard work lead to success

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen," Hebrews 11:1.

When Leonard arrived in the NBA, he was wide-eyed and immature, a boy wrapped in a man's body. During summer league practices, he did cartwheels and flung teammates over his shoulders as a joke. During his rookie season, he looked lost by the speed of the game and confounded about his role and place. He only went to the University of Illinois for two seasons and barely played until he was a sophomore, so he was raw when he arrived in the NBA. And it showed. His mistakes were obvious, his gaffes over-the-top.

As he struggled -- and Lillard, who was drafted five spots ahead of him in the same class, blossomed into a star -- Leonard became a punching bag, particularly on twitter, where dismayed fans unleashed hate. During his second NBA season, when he saw a dip in his playing time and reached his lowest point, Leonard took a six-month hiatus from twitter, the sting of the hurtful words too distracting. He didn't peek at social media until the summer, when the season was over.

A friend had sent him an email containing Hebrews 11.1, a bible verse that struck a cord. To him, the message was simple: put in the work, keep the faith and success will eventually be seen. It guides him daily -- he glanced at it Monday afternoon -- a reminder to stay strong and keep working. He kept working, and stopped worrying about what detractors thought.

"That's just the way it is that if someone's struggling, it's only natural for fans to say, 'Why did we pick him? Why the heck does he ever play?" Leonard said. "I'll be completely honest; I can totally understand where people at some points were like, 'When is this kid gonna come around? Or what is he doing out there?' It doesn't bother me anymore. I'm more secure. But at the time it was tough.

"The main thing to me is almost proving it to myself. I've always been a very, very competitive person and always driven by success. So when that wasn't happening, it was hard on me."

Leonard found security in faith, hard work and acceptance. During his three years in the league, he has revamped everything about his game and approach, from the way he watches video and practices to the way he eats to the way he scouts opponents and mentally prepares for games. He's watched thousands of hours of video and steadily continued to work on every aspect of his skill-set, slowly, diligently charging ahead, improving. Equally important, along the way, he grew to accept that he would never be a hulking center that dominated the paint.

Athleticism, passing, speed and three-point shooting -- he's shooting 43 percent from beyond the arc this season -- would define his playing style. He was a stretch four and he finally embraced it.

"I always knew this was a process and it would take time," Leonard said. "I'm not a bruiser. I'm not. And for people who think that I should be, too bad. That's just not me."

His transformation has been gradual, but noticeable. And his successes have caused the hate to subside. Fans have finally embraced his strengths -- even the three-point shooting -- and Leonard more and more has earned his teammates' trust.

He remains lighthearted and good-natured, traits that define his personality. But his focus has sharpened over the years and Leonard is serious when he "steps between the lines," as he calls it. On the court and off it -- he is engaged to college sweetheart Elle Bielfeldt and they will marry in August -- Leonard has, quite simply, grown.

"He's gotten a lot more mature," Lillard said. "At first, everything was so emotional. When he got mad, he expressed it. When he was down about something, he would make it noticeable. Now he's harder. He's been in the league three years now. It's been cool to see him develop. It's all coming together."

"Terrific" against the Nets

Leonard has put his stamp on a variety of wins this season, registering a double-double in a January win over the Lakers, recording 15 points and seven rebounds in a win over Detroit and providing a fourth-quarter scoring spark in a February win at Houston. But never before was he more impressive than Monday night. Leonard snared seemingly every rebound in sight. He ran in transition and completed fast breaks with alley-oop dunks. He finished a post move with a baby hook. He swished a corner three. He played capable team defense.

He was so good, late in the third quarter, Stotts turned to Leonard and said: "I'm counting on you to score. I'm counting on you to be a player out there." Leonard responded by scoring the Blazers' first 11 points of the fourth quarter and when he finished a monster alley-oop dunk with eight minutes left, the Blazers had trimmed a 22-point third-quarter deficit to eight points.

The run eventually fizzled as the shorthanded Blazers (50-27) ran out of gas, falling to the surging Nets (36-41), who won for the ninth time in 11 games. But Leonard's night could not be overlooked.

"Meyers was terrific," Stotts said.

And when the performance was over, the person who entered the league with Leonard, the player who has had a front row seat to the ups and downs the last three seasons, couldn't walk away without recognizing the moment.

So Lillard found Leonard at midcourt.

"It's been a pleasure for me to watch," Lillard said of his teammate's development. "When someone is showing up to the gym, putting in time, dealing with some of the adversity he's dealt with over the course of our three years and plays like that, he deserves to be recognized. I wanted him to know that I see what he's doing. I see the improvement and I'm happy and proud for him. And I wanted to tell him that."

--Joe Freeman | jfreeman@oregonian.com | 503-294-5183 | @BlazerFreeman