LA Clippers beat Spurs 106-101, despite losing Chris Paul early
The LA Clippers rode their bench players after Chris Paul left in the third quarter for a strong win against a possible playoff foe in the San Antonio Spurs 106-101.
Chris Paul scored 19 points in 23 minutes before being taken out with a pulled hamstring in the third quarter. After also losing Blake Griffin for four to six weeks for knee surgery, the LA Clippers (22-8) stuck with their bench into the fourth quarter to get a win against a Western Conference powerhouse in the San Antonio Spurs (23-6).
Marreese Speights added 14 points in 28 minutes. Raymond Felton with 14 points stepped up with a host of strong drives against the Spurs’ slow bigs to help lead the team to victory. Jamal Crawford found his shooting stroke to chip in 11 points with two steals. Wesley Johnson did not shoot well, but he had eight points, nine rebounds and played some terrific defense.
Kawhi Leonard led the Spurs with 27 points and nine rebounds, Pau Gasol added 21 points and eight rebounds. LaMarcus Aldridge was held to 10 points and four rebounds. Tony Parker added just two points.
In the first, L.A. had great looks at the basket with Paul Pierce starting in place of Griffin. The basketball found its way to J.J. Redick who made three three-pointers in the first. The Clippers had problems guarding Aldridge and keeping him off the offensive glass because of the size advantage held over Pierce.
Chris Paul literally stole this ball back from Kawhi Leonard like a goalie. He was not getting beat in a 2-on-1 break #Clippers pic.twitter.com/H6Bm6uNrIA
— Tom West (@TomWestNBA) December 23, 2016
Paul (the NBA leader in steals) dove to steal a pass to stop a fast break. DeAndre Jordan had a monster dunk over Gasol soon after to send the crowd into celebration. The Spurs did not hit a three pointer in the quarter compared to the five the Clippers had.
Here's how DeAndre Jordan earned tonight's #KiaTopPlay https://t.co/8ZbwSHOOuS
— NBA (@NBA) December 23, 2016
In the second quarter, the bench had some amazing ball movement with Felton running the offense and players passing up good shots for great shots. Having Wes back into the fold looks like the bench is regaining some of their early season magic. The monstrous Jordan tallied consecutive blocks to help the Clippers push the lead to double digits, and defense is what helped get the separation in the first half.
To start to third quarter, the Spurs came in with a lot of energy and began to chip away at the lead. Paul left in the middle of the third after straining his hamstring. The bench was a little chaotic at times, but provided good minutes in the third to give the starters rest. The Spurs did have an advantage of 19-6 in second chance points and scored 18 points in the paint after only having 14 in the first half.
Look at Wesley Johnson playing some stellar 1-on-1 defense against Kawhi. Bodies him up on the drive and blocks him at the rim #Clippers pic.twitter.com/tr4LsZPNGY
— Tom West (@TomWestNBA) December 23, 2016
The bench played extremely important minutes and finished the game against the Spurs’ starters. It was nothing but impressive. Speights hit a three to extend the lead to 14 with a little under four minutes in the game.
More from Clipperholics
The Spurs then cut it to single digits with a Leonard layup, and Rivers put up a three to put the nail in the coffin and seal the victory.
The Clippers were crushed on the boards 54-42, and they had one more turnover (13) than the Spurs (12). L.A. shot 46.4 percent to the Spurs’ mark of 40.2.
Notes
Six players had 11+ points for the Clippers.
After leaving with a strained hamstring, Paul is listed as day-to-day.
The Clippers’ bench outscored San Antonio’s 58-33.
This was the first time the Spurs scored 100 and lost this season.
Want your voice heard? Join the Clipperholics team!
Up next
The LA Clippers play Friday night against the lowly Dallas Mavericks (8-21). The Mavs look to be without Dirk Nowitzki. The Clippers were already missing Blake Griffin, and now you can add Chris Paul to the injury report.
