Rowan Kavner
LOS ANGELES – From the fast start sparked by a raucous crowd, to the high-flying acrobatic Blake Griffin dunks, to the swarming defense that Gregg Popovich thought was the difference in the game, the Clippers made clear Sunday night they wouldn’t be fazed hosting the defending champions.
Chris Paul recorded 32 points, seven rebounds and six assists, while Griffin added 26 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and three thunderous third-quarter dunks as the Clippers led by as many as 20 points in the second half while taking Game 1, 107-92.
The Clippers jumped out to a 30-18 lead after a quarter, but the Clippers knew a Spurs run would come. That happened quickly, as San Antonio started the second on a 10-0 run and took a 37-35 lead. But Paul tied it back up with a bucket, and the Clippers would never trail again after that brief lapse in the second.
“One of the things we talked about coming into this series, we were going to have to have great resolve,” said head coach Doc Rivers. “They're going to make plays. They're going to make runs, they're going to make shots. They're going to go on stretches where the ball is moving and they have you spinning around, and you just have to take the ball out and run it back and see if you can score back.”
That’s exactly what the Clippers did, closing the second quarter on a 14-6 run to take a 49-43 lead into the second half. Then the Clippers opened up the game.
A four-point lead suddenly blossomed to 17 late in the third quarter, as Griffin soared and dunked his way for the majority of his 10 third-quarter points, helping the Clippers outscore the Spurs by nine in the quarter.
The Spurs once again made a run early in the fourth to cut the Clippers’ lead to single digits, but the Clippers got the lead back up to 93-81 as Griffin hit a bucket and drew a foul. The Clippers led by double digits the rest of the way, with Paul sealing the deal, scoring 13 of the Clippers’ 28 points in the fourth to put the Spurs away.
The Clippers shot 51.3 percent and went 10-of-18 from 3-point range while holding the Spurs to 36.6 percent shooting and just a 10-of-33 mark behind the arc. Kawhi Leonard was the only Spurs starter to shoot better than 40 percent, going 7-of-12 from the floor.
“Their defense was better than our offense,” Popovich said. “That’s the bottom line.”
That defensive effort was led by DeAndre Jordan, who swatted a Manu Ginobili shot into the stands among his four blocks in the game. That defensive presence inside led the Spurs to rethink many of their looks in the paint.
“He was fantastic,” Rivers said. “He even got out to a three and challenged the shot. He's just so gifted athletically. I hate almost saying that because he's so smart defensively, and I think that's what people miss.”
In addition to the stellar night from the starters, Jamal Crawford also looked like the player he was prior to the calf injury, scoring six more points than he had in any of his last four games of the regular season after returning from a 17-game absence.
Crawford finished with 17 points, going 7-of-10 from the floor.
“That was huge for us because with the second unit, we need him,” Rivers said. “We need him to score, and I thought he put a lot of pressure on their defense. He made shots for us. I thought there was a lot of little moments for us in the game like that.”
Rivers also included Matt Barnes’ play as one of those "little moments," as he scuffled with Aron Baynes for a ball out of bounds. There were plenty of plays that energized a STAPLES Center crowd that was louder than it had been all season.
“For Matt, he's part of the heart and soul of our team,” Crawford said. “He makes plays like that. He wears his heart on his sleeve. He's an emotional guy, and that play was a good, hard, clean playoff play, and it lifted the whole building. We feed off that. We feed off each other. We're fans of each other and we always support each other.”
NOTES: The Clippers will host the Spurs on Wednesday in Game 2 of the series … Tony Parker tweaked his ankle early in the game but continued to play and said he’ll be fine … Doc Rivers thought the crowd had energy throughout and may have been even better than the Golden State series last year … Tiago Splitter (calf) only played 9:57 despite starting the game … Every Clippers starter played at least 35 minutes … The Clippers led by as many as 20, while the Spurs’ biggest lead was two … The Clippers had 23 fast break points to the Spurs’ 12 … The Spurs went just 14-of-26 from the free-throw line …