Harris’ near triple-double leads Clippers by Spurs, 103-95
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The Los Angeles Clippers have lost so often recently, they had nothing to lose against the San Antonio Spurs.
Turns out, that can be a real winning attitude.
Tobias Harris had 27 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, and the Clippers beat the Spurs 103-95 on Sunday night to snap a five-game losing streak.
"You see what you do when your back is against the wall," Los Angeles veteran Patrick Beverly said. "We came out swinging."
The Clippers led for all but 14 seconds in handing the Spurs their second straight loss at home.
"I think they out executed us and out competed us tonight every way, shape and form," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "And, we were sloppy with the ball on top of it, so that's a bad combination."
LaMarcus Aldridge had 30 points and 14 rebounds for the Spurs, who committed 18 turnovers.
San Antonio pulled within 101-95 with 31.7 seconds remaining on Aldridge's final basket, but Los Angeles escaped a full-court press and sealed it on two free throws by Beverly.
Beverly finished with 18 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. Montrezl Harrell added 18 points in his first start, and Avery Bradley had 15 points for the Clippers.
"Everybody who played, bro, they came in with great energy, good minutes," Beverly said.
The Clippers had little trouble scoring despite being without Lou Williams and Danilo Gallinari, who both sat out due to injuries.
The Clippers went on a 22-2 run bridging the first and second quarters, turning a one-point deficit into a 45-26 lead with 11 minutes remaining in the first half.
"We were physical from the beginning," Harris said. "We had a collective effort, some great plays, extra plays we made from the beginning of the game that just kind of trickled over towards the end of the game."
Rudy Gay had 19 points and Marco Belinelli added 12 points for San Antonio. DeMar DeRozan continued a recent shooting slump by going 4 for 16. He scored eight points in 29 minutes.
TIP-INS
Clippers: Williams missed his second straight game due to a sore right hamstring. Although coach Doc Rivers said Williams "looked good" during morning workouts, the Clippers opted to keep him out. ... Rivers said Gallinari remained in Los Angeles to treat the back spasms that limited him to eight minutes against Golden State on Friday.
Spurs: Aldridge has 317 blocks with the Spurs, passing Greg "Cadillac" Anderson for 10th in franchise history. ... Belinelli was 2 for 7 on 3-pointers, giving him 300 career 3s with the Spurs. He is the 13th player in franchise history with 300 3-pointers and joins Matt Bonner, Bruce Bowen and Brent Barry as the only ones to do so while shooting over 40 percent. ... Davis Bertans has 250 career 3-pointers. He joins Gary Neal as the only Spurs to reach that mark in their first three seasons with the team.
STILL SHOOTING
DeRozan's eight points were his second-lowest with the Spurs and marked the sixth straight game he has failed to score 20 points.
Although he sat out San Antonio's previous game due to a sore ankle, DeRozan said he is fine physically and simply playing poorly. The 10-year veteran is not worried about his slump, and neither are his teammates.
"The next game's going to come and he's going to do what he does," Spurs point guard Derrick White said. "It happens, it's a long season. I'm not too worried about it."
UP NEXT
Clippers: At Dallas on Tuesday night.
Spurs: At Philadelphia on Wednesday night.
