(SportsNetwork.com) – Who would have thought the defending NBA champion San
Antonio Spurs would be last in the Southwest Division at this juncture of the
season?
Granted it’s still early and the Spurs have played just five games, they will
try to get back on track Monday against the Los Angeles Clippers in the first
of four straight road games.
The Spurs have lost two straight and three of four games, and suffered a
100-99 loss to Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans Saturday night in
the Alamo City. Davis hit the go-ahead layup in the waning seconds and Jrue
Holiday played tight defense on Kawhi Leonard to seal the victory.
Danny Green gave the Spurs a one-point lead after making three free throws,
but Davis was the hero at the end.
“He was knocking down jumpers and getting to the rim,” Green said of Davis.
“He’s carrying his team right now and carrying them in the right direction.”
Tony Parker scored 28 points, Manu Ginobili posted 17 and Green ended with 16
points. Leonard had 14 points and 14 rebounds for San Antonio, which shot 45
percent and committed 19 turnovers. Tim Duncan posted a double-double of 11
points and 10 boards. It was the 900th of his Hall of Fame career.
Duncan, Ginobili and Parker have won 499 games together.
San Antonio will also visit the Warriors, Lakers and Kings on the road trip,
and will play six of seven outside the Alamo City.
The Clippers opened a four-game homestand with Saturday’s 106-102 win versus
the Portland Trail Blazers, as J.J. Redick poured in 30 points on 11-of-13
shooting. Blake Griffin (23), Chris Paul (22) and Jamal Crawford (20) all
scored more than 20 points with Paul handing out 11 assists.
“J.J. was amazing today,” said Paul. “We played at the right pace. To see J.J.
get going, it helped everybody.”
Paul is currently tied for first in the NBA with five double-doubles. Crawford
is 10 3-pointers away from passing Dale Ellis for 10th on the all-time list.
Los Angeles made 49.4 percent from the field and scored 19 points off 16
Portland turnovers to improve to 4-2.
The Clippers will also host Phoenix and Chicago on the homestand and have a
3-1 record at Staples Center. They went 34-7 at home in 2013-14. LA is 4-2 in
conference play, while the Spurs are 1-3 against teams from the West.
San Antonio went 2-1 against the Clippers last season and is 24-5 in the last
29 matchups in this series. The Spurs have won 12 of the last 15 contests at
the Clippers.
