Spurs-Clippers Preview

By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO
Posted Nov 07 2012 1:12AM

The San Antonio Spurs' dominance of the Los Angeles Clippers carried into the playoffs last season.

That doesn't seem likely to change just yet.

The Spurs look to continue their best-ever start Wednesday night when they face the Clippers for the first time since sweeping them last spring.

San Antonio (4-0) disposed of upstart Los Angeles (2-2) in four straight games in the second round of the playoffs last season before being eliminated by Oklahoma City in the Western Conference finals.

The Spurs' sweep of the Clippers wasn't much of a surprise since they had won 48 of the previous 54 regular-season meetings. San Antonio is 24-4 in its last 28 road games against the Clippers, including two playoff victories.

The Spurs enter this visit to Staples Center on a season-opening four-game winning streak for the best start in the franchise's 40-year history.

"It's just a stat, not that important in the long-term," swingman Manu Ginobili said. "(But) at this point we are enjoying it. It's curious that a team this successful hasn't started that well before."

A season-high 57 points from their reserves helped the Spurs to a 101-79 rout of visiting Indiana on Monday.

"That's kind of been our motto," said guard Gary Neal, who had 17 points off the bench. "With Manu (Ginobili) coming off and Stephen Jackson, those guys could be starting on any team in the NBA. We are a deep team. We've just got to maintain effort when the bench comes in."

Tim Duncan continues to be a force for San Antonio in his 16th season, leading the team with 19.3 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.5 blocks.

The 13-time All-Star averaged 21.0 points on 59.4 percent shooting against the Clippers in the playoffs.

Tony Parker sat out the last regular-season meeting with Los Angeles due to a sore thigh, but went on to average 20.7 points in the final three postseason matchups.

The Clippers are trying to avoid a winless three-game homestand after committing 25 turnovers - their highest total in almost two years - in Monday's 108-101 loss to Cleveland. Their 18.8 turnovers are among the most in the league.

"You make 25 turnovers and you're going to lose just about every time," guard Chris Paul said. "But it's early though. It's better we do this now than later, but we'll be all right."

Paul is averaging 18.5 points and 11.5 assists through four games, and he had 36 and 11, respectively, in a 120-108 win at San Antonio on March 9. However, he was held to 12.8 points per game with 9.3 assists in the playoff loss to the Spurs.

Blake Griffin averaged 21.0 points and 7.8 rebounds in that series, and he's coming off a season-high 20-point performance against the Cavaliers.

Despite the recent struggles, the Clippers are scoring 104.3 points per game, an increase of 6.8 points from last season.

Clippers send Spurs to 1st loss, 106-84

By BETH HARRIS
Posted Nov 08 2012 2:10AM

LOS ANGELES (AP) The Los Angeles Clippers played with a chip on their shoulder, coming out amped up at the prospect of exacting a little revenge on the San Antonio Spurs.

Led by high-flying dunkmeisters DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin, the Clippers rolled to a 106-84 victory on Wednesday night, handing the Spurs their first loss of the season.

"We still remember what they did to us a couple months ago," Jordan said about the team that swept the Clippers out of the second round of the playoffs. "That was extra motivation."

Griffin had 22 points and 10 rebounds and Jordan had 20 points and 11 rebounds to lead six players who scored in double figures while helping the Clippers snap a two-game skid. Los Angeles controlled the boards, 46-29.

"They kicked our (rear end)," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "They were more emotional, more aggressive, and it meant something to them for all the obvious reasons. We hung in there for a half, but after that I don't think we played with the same intensity that they did, and it showed."

Danny Green scored 12 points, including three 3-pointers, and Tim Duncan added 10 for the Spurs, whose 4-0 start was the best in franchise history. No Spurs player took more than eight shots and their 20 turnovers led to 21 points for Los Angeles.

Tony Parker was held to four points and Manu Ginobili had nine on a combined 4-of-15 shooting.

"We knew it was going to be a personal game and we knew they were going to come out here and be fired up," Duncan said. "We hoped that we would have a better response to that, but we didn't. So credit to them. They played much better than we did and it was a good win for them."

Los Angeles opened the season with wins over the Grizzlies and Lakers, then stumbled with home losses to Golden State and Cleveland.

"Chauncey (Billups) gave us a good talking to after the last two games," Jordan said. "We really didn't want to disappoint him. He told us that we took our last two opponents for granted and we didn't come out to play. Tonight we brought more intensity and it helped us."

Jordan, Griffin and Chris Paul, who had 10 points and 12 assists, left the game for good with 4:47 remaining and the Clippers ahead by 25. They had just finished a raucous stretch of dunks off alley-oop passes during a 12-2 spurt. Griffin had three big dunks in the sequence after Jordan's high-flying act dominated the third quarter.

The Spurs got no closer than 11 points after opening the fourth on an 11-2 run. Jamal Crawford hit a 3-pointer to re-ignite the Clippers' offense.

The Clippers took an 82-62 lead into the fourth after outscoring the Spurs 35-21 in the third while shooting 71 percent from the field. Los Angeles dominated the defensive glass 12-2 and its second unit extended the lead to 20 points while Griffin and Paul spent the last few minutes on the bench.

Eric Bledsoe led Los Angeles' reserves with 15 points and Matt Barnes added 12.

"We were so successful because of our defense," Paul said. "When you defend and stop teams, that's when it's fun. If you can defend on a nightly basis in this league you've always got a chance to win. We needed a win like this."

Jordan had three highlight-reel dunks in the third quarter, including a fast break off an alley-oop pass from Paul. The Spurs were held to 37 percent shooting and outscored 22-10 in the paint.

"When D.J.'s on his game, he's tough," Griffin said. "He can score, catch anything, alter and block shots. When he's active like that the paint is controlled by him."

The Clippers led 47-41 at halftime after being ahead by 11 points early in the second. They had just six turnovers after committing 13 in the first half against Cleveland in their previous game. Griffin, Paul and Jordan propelled the Clippers' offense in the second quarter, with Jordan scoring eight points, including consecutive dunks, and Griffin and Paul four each.

Notes: Paul had his right hand wrapped after the game in what he said was a "preventative" measure. He had thumb surgery last summer. ... Ginobili scored nine points in his 670th game with the Spurs, moving him into fifth on the franchise list. ... Griffin played with a sleeve covering his right elbow for the second straight game. He has fluid on his elbow and a stiff neck. ... The Spurs' loss left the Knicks as the NBA's only undefeated team. ... Billy Crystal and Floyd Mayweather Jr. were among the Clippers' fourth sellout crowd of the season and 53rd in a row.

Notebook: Clippers 106, Spurs 84

Dan Arritt, for NBA.com
Posted Thu Nov 08, 2012 1:49 AM - Updated Thu Nov 08, 2012 7:09 AM

THE FACTS: The Clippers returned to their winning ways Wednesday night, and in the process ended the best start in franchise history for the Spurs. Blake Griffin led the way with 22 points and 10 rebounds and fellow big man DeAndre Jordan pitched in 20 points and 11 rebounds in the 106-84 victory at Staples Center. The win ended a two-game losing streak for L.A. and a four-game winning streak to start the season for San Antonio.

QUOTABLE: "Tonight we brought more intensity and it helped us."

-- Clippers' Jordan on the win

THE STAT: The Clippers won the battle of the boards for the first time this season, outrebounding San Antonio 48-41. The Clippers came into the game averaging the third-fewest rebounds in the league (36.75) and with the fifth-worst rebounding differential (minus-6.5).

TURNING POINT: Leading by six at the half, the Clippers made their first seven shots of the third quarter to extend their lead to 12. The starters were then subbed midway through the quarter and the reserves led another push, outscoring the Spurs, 10-2, over the final 2 ½ minutes to go up by 20.

HOT: The Clippers shot 55.4 percent from the field but it was the starters who were especially steamy. Jordan shot 10-for-12, Griffin was 10-for-16 and Willie Green was 5-for-5 with 11 points. As a unit, the starters shot 31-for-47 (65.9 percent). Seven players scored in double figures for L.A.

NOT: Spurs point guard Tony Parker has seen has shot go from lukewarm to frigid through the first five games. He shot 2-for-7 and scored just four points, while also turning the ball over four times. A career 49.2-percent shooter, he's 5-for-20 from the field in the last two games and 29-72 for the season (40.2 percent).

GOOD MOVE: The Spurs didn't go quietly after falling behind by 20 at the end of three quarters. With the starters for both teams on the bench, San Antonio whittled the lead to 14 on a 3-point play by Stephen Jackson with 8:27 left in the game. Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro called timeout and reinserted Chris Paul for Eric Bledsoe. About 40 seconds later, after the Spurs trimmed the lead to 11, Del Negro sent Griffin back on the floor and he scored eight points in a 15-1 run that put the game on ice.

BAD MOVE: The Spurs have shown they can beat the Clippers in games that seem unwinnable. Just last February, they trailed the Clippers by three points with L.A. set to inbound the ball at midcourt with 9.5 seconds left in the game. Paul threw the ball away to Gary Neal, however, and he sank a 3-pointer to send the game into overtime, where San Antonio prevailed. San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich seemed to raise the white flag this time around, keeping his starters on the bench the entire fourth quarter.

QUOTABLE II: "We got blown out, we didn't play well. We can go into the logistics of the whole thing, but the bottom line is we didn't play well."

-- Spurs' Tim Duncan

NOTABLE: Jordan scored at least 20 points for the fifth time in his five-year career and the first since March 2011. ... Paul finished with 10 points and 12 assists for his fourth double-double this season. ... No player had more than four field goals for the Spurs. ... San Antonio guard Manu Ginobili played in his 670th game for the Spurs, moving him to fifth on the all-time franchise list.

UP NEXT: For the Clippers, Thursday @ Portland, Sunday vs. Atlanta, Wednesday vs. Miami. For the Spurs, Friday @ Sacramento, Saturday @ Portland, Tuesday at L.A. Lakers.

• Spurs: Joseph
• Clippers: Billups, Hill, Thompkins

• Spurs: Jackson
• Clippers: Griffin, Jordan

• Lead Changes: 1
• Times Tied: 1

• Arena: Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
• Officials: #19 James Capers, #38 Michael Smith, #18 Matt Boland
• Attendance: 19060
• Duration: 2:11