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Clippers Try To Regain Focus In San Antonio

Rowan Kavner

NEW ORLEANS – Head coach Doc Rivers knows lapses in energy, effort and focus can’t happen on road trips as formidable as the one the Clippers are on.

Rivers didn’t feel his Clippers deserved to win Friday’s game against the Pelicans, and they didn’t snapping a six-game winning streak and looking out of sorts. But the Clippers don’t have much time to ponder that loss with a game in San Antonio a night later.

“I’d rather have some more time,” Rivers said. “San Antonio, they’ve been sitting at home for two more days, sitting there waiting for us. It’s a hard trip for us, so that’s why this game will sting more. You can’t give games; not on this trip.”

Unlike the Clippers, the well-rested Spurs haven’t played since Wednesday’s win against the Hornets, which marked San Antonio’s seventh win in its last eight games.

“We have no time to dwell,” said Austin Rivers. “Play the Spurs tomorrow, so we’ve just got to get ready for the next game.”

Austin Rivers said it’s vital the Clippers let the lack of focus from Friday’s game get out of their psyche.

“If you start (dwelling on it), that’s when you start messing with whatever,” he said. “We won six in a row, we had a tough loss, we weren’t there focused we gave them that win…They played well, and our focus wasn’t really there 100 percent, but let’s get another six in a row, seven in a row. We’ve just got to keep rolling.”

LAST TIME OUT

Pelicans 108, Clippers 103 – The Clippers looked out of sorts, failing to get in transition, missing open jumpers and failing to stop the Pelicans late. Those weren’t issues for the Clippers during their six-game winning streak that was snapped in the loss. Chris Paul scored 14 points in the fourth quarter and nearly brought the Clippers back, scoring 24 points and adding eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals.

Spurs 95, Hornets 86 – The Spurs built a sizable enough first-half lead that they could survive a 14-point output in the third quarter. No Spurs starter had more than 17 points, but they all had at least nine. The difference was from deep, as San Antonio hit 10 3-pointers and Charlotte hit just six.

NOTEWORTHY MATCHUP

Chris Paul vs. Tony Parker – The last time the Clippers faced the Spurs, Parker was just starting to get over a lingering hamstring injury. Not that anyone could tell, as Parker scored 26 points in 34 minutes while the Spurs shot 63.6 percent as a team. Paul lit up the stat sheet as well, scoring 25 points and dishing out nine assists.

TWO THINGS TO WATCH:

Shootout Again? The first two games between these teams this season couldn’t have been much different. Neither team reached the 90-point mark in the first matchup while both teams scored at least 118 points in regulation in the most recent game. The Spurs have allowed fewer than 100 points in seven of their last eight games, so it seems more likely to see the former matchup than the latter.

Paint Battle – With Tim Duncan and company, it’s no surprise the Spurs are in the top 10 in the league in points in the paint. That hasn’t been a strength for the Clippers, who’ve done much of their damage from the outside, but the Clippers had more points in the paint than San Antonio in the last matchup.

NOTES: The Spurs won each of the first two matchups against the Clippers this season …Kawhi Leonard didn’t play in the last matchup between these teams … Leonard had 26 points in the first game … The Clippers had won six straight games overall before Friday’s loss in New Orleans … This is the third of an eight-game road trip for the Clippers … The Clippers have scored at least 100 points in eight of their last nine games …