SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Spurs continued their homestand this week with a pair of back-to-back games against the LA Clippers but came up short in both meetings, falling to 0-3 on the homestand and losing their fourth straight overall.
In case you missed it, here is a recap of both games in the series.
Wednesday: Spurs 101, Clippers 134
The Spurs got mauled by the Clippers, falling by 30-plus points at home. San Antonio struggled early on, falling behind by 12 points and allowing 41 Clippers points in the first quarter.
Things did not get better from there as Los Angeles outscored San Antonio 32-17 in the final quarter. Former Spur Kawhi Leonard had 25 points for the Clippers, who never trailed in the game. Marcus Morris added 20 points while Lou Williams added 16 for Los Angeles, who won their third straight.
DeMar DeRozan led the Spurs with 19 points while Patty Mills added 16 for the Spurs, who lost their second game of a season-high nine game homestand. Luka Samanic matched his season-high with 14 points to go along with six rebounds.
“He’s beginning to prove himself deserving of time,” Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich said. “He’s played well. He has more confidence, he’s a good athlete, w/ good size. Hopefully, he’ll continue to improve.”
Thursday: Spurs 85, Clippers 98
The next night saw the Clippers without Kawhi Leonard, Marcus Morris, Serge Ibaka and Patrick Beverley. Lou Williams had just been traded hours prior to the Atlanta Hawks for Rajon Rondo. So you’d think this one would be easier for the Spurs, right?
Wrong.
San Antonio’s offensive woes plagued them once again as they fell 98-85 to Los Angeles, losing their fourth straight game and the third straight of their homestand. The loss dropped the Silver and Black into eighth place in a jam-packed Western Conference.
Reggie Jackson scored 28 points for the Clippers while Paul George added 24 for the shorthanded Los Angeles squad.
Despite a strong showing in the first half, the Clippers allowed just 30 points from San Antonio in the second half. DeMar DeRozan had 23 points, and Dejounte Murray added 18 for the Spurs, who officially reached a buyout agreement with LaMarcus Aldridge earlier in the day.
The Spurs shooting woes continued as they shot just 34 percent from beyond the arc, connecting on just eight of their 23 attempts.
“We are not shooting well, obviously, and we started to turn it over a little bit, which kind of exacerbates the situation,” Popovich said. “But we are not getting 3s. In this league, you got to get ’em. And, overall, too many mental errors here and there.”
UP NEXT:
The Spurs are now 22-20 on the season and will return to the court on Saturday night to face the Chicago Bulls at 7:30 p.m.
