NBA: Clippers beat Spurs for the second time
The Los Angeles Clippers survived a flurry of shots from the San Antonio Spurs late in the fourth quarter, to beat them 92-87 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Monday (Tuesday, PHL time).
It was the second time this season the Clippers triumphed over the Spurs, having previously bested them 106-84 in LA.
The win tied them with the Memphis Grizzlies, who earlier lost to the Denver Nuggets, at the top of the Western Conference, with both teams boasting of 8-2 records. The Spurs meanwhile, are a half-game behind them at 8-3.
During the 2012 NBA Playoffs, the Spurs swept the Clippers in four games, in the Western Conference semis.
San Antonio had built a 10-point lead, 28-18, just before the end of the first quarter, on a lay-up by Tiago Splitter. The Clippers slowly reeled themselves back into the game though, starting with a 10-0 blast by the LA reserves that put them up 32-31 with 6:28 left.
Splitter swung the lead temporarily back to San Antonio with two freebies, but nine unanswered by Los Angeles gave them the lead anew, 41-33, and this time for good.
The Spurs still drew close however, getting to within two points on a barrage of triples from Tony Parker and Matt Bonner, 87-85, 2:26 left to play. Eric Bledsoe and Manu Ginobili exchanged makes, and that's when the Clippers defense locked in, holding San Antonio without a point in the final minute.
Chris Paul had 19 points and eight assists to lead the Clippers, while Blake Griffin added a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Matt Barnes came up with a huge effort off the bench with 14 points, nine rebounds and three steals, after replacing Caron Butler, who left the game after eight minutes with a shoulder strain.
San Antonio drew a vintage 20-point, 14-rebound effort from Tim Duncan, while Manu Ginobili had 15 points off the bench, but they missed the fiery Stephen Jackson, who also left early with a finger fracture.
The Clippers defense held the Spurs to just 35.4 percent shooting for the game, although LA managed to convert just a single triple off 12 attempts. - AMD, GMA News