Clippers Fall to Spurs 77-62 in Game 4

After finding their winning ways against the Portland Trail Blazers Thursday night, the Los Angeles Clippers couldn't make it a streak, as they succumbed to the San Antonio Spurs 77-62 in their fourth game of the Las Vegas Summer League. Alonzo Gee set the scoring pace for the Spurs with 20, and Al-Farouq Aminu led the way for the Clippers with 16 points.

It was a sloppy game for the Clippers on both ends. They only managed to shoot 34 percent from the floor and 56 percent from the line in the game, and they turned the ball over 24 times and recorded 24 personal fouls.

The Clippers looked fairly solid in the first quarter, as the team made a concerted effort to feed DeAndre Jordan in the post as the team's first option on offense. He responded impressively, making contested baskets, getting to the charity stripe, or finding the open man off the pass from the low post. While at first Jordan had some trouble with double teams, he seemed to improve at handling right before the viewers' eyes in this game. He even took his man off the dribble from the perimeter on one play for a two-handed jam. As a result, the Clippers took an 18-12 lead into the second period. He was also the team's central figure on defense, blocking shots and snagging tough rebounds from his San Antonio counterparts. DJ's final line for the day was 11 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, and 1 steal.

Jeremy Richardson, who saw limited minutes for the Clippers in the first three games, provided a spark off the bench, too, particularly in the first quarter. He showed the range on a couple of long two-pointers in addition to his skills at driving to the basket. He finished with 10 points.

Eric Bledsoe ran the point for the Clippers once again for most of the game, but this was certainly an off night for him. He shot only 1-5 from the field — his one make was a powerful left-handed dunk that really showed off his potential and athleticism.

Aminu struggled but turned it on late in the contest. While he did pile up 8 personal fouls, he shot 4-9 while making two of his five three-point attempts.

Marqus Blakely and Trey Johnson started again for the Clippers, but they were not as successful as they were on Thursday. They shot a combined 3-8 for 6 points.

It was a step back for the team in Game 4, but the emergence of Jordan on offense is the principal takeaway from Saturday night. If he can develop a post game to go along with his obvious talents on the boards and on defense, he will be a major factor the team during the regular season.

The Clippers round out their Summer League schedule against the D-League All Stars Sunday night at 5:30 PM Pacific.

Summer League Central