Despite holding leads three separate times in the game, the San Antonio Spurs fell 113-110 to the Los Angeles Clippers (42-36) at the Staples Center on Tuesday night.
The loss was the sixth straight on the road for San Antonio, who have not won away from the AT&T Center since Feb. 25. Additionally, the defeat also saw the Spurs drop in the Western Conference standings from fourth-place to fifth.
Here is what went good and bad for the Spurs, as well as three standout players: LaMarcus Aldridge, Patty Mills, and Rudy Gay.
The Good:
- The Spurs got solid production out of Danny Green and Patty Mills.
- LaMarcus Aldridge had another dominating performance.
- Despite the loss, San Antonio still controls its playoff destiny.
The Bad:
- San Antonio had no answer for L.A. big men DeAndre Jordan, Boban Marjanovic, and Montrezl Harrell. The three combined for 34 of the Clippers 113 points in the game as well as playing a big part in LA’s rally from 19-points down.
- The fourth quarter issues plagued the Silver and Black as the Clippers erased a late seven-point deficit and outscored San Antonio 41-27 in the final 12 minutes.
- The Spurs’ run of 18-straight 50-win seasons came to an end with the loss. The Spurs will not reach 50 wins for the first time since 1997-98.
- Lou Williams craved his way through the Spurs’ defense in the fourth quarter as he scored eight of his 22 points in the final five minutes. San Antonio’s defense overall really struggled as they gave up leads of 19, 14, and seven points respectively. In fact, the Spurs held a seven-point lead with five minutes to play.
Three Standout Players:
LaMarcus Aldridge: Despite facing a tough lineup of big men from Los Angeles, LaMarcus Aldridge found a way to get to the rim early and often, nearly lifting the Spurs to victory.
Aldridge finished with 35 points on 13-of-21 shooting to go along with nine rebounds. The Spurs’ All-Star forward went up against Jordan, who had a significant size and length advantage. However, none of that mattered much as Aldridge hit from the post, outside, and wing to get his buckets. Unfortunately for Aldridge, he did not have nearly as much help from role players as he did on Sunday.
Patty Mills: One the role players Aldridge did get help from was fan-favorite Patty Mills. The Aussie guard did his best to keep the Spurs in the game and hit the biggest shot of the night for San Antonio.
With the Spurs down one, Mills hit a 3-pointer to give the Spurs a 108-106 lead with 37 seconds remaining. That was three of his 14 points as he went 3-for-9 from beyond the arc overall on the night. He was aggressive early and got hot late. Despite him getting flak from fans, Mills continues to show that he can be relied on in some pretty clutch moments for the Silver and Black.
Rudy Gay: The Spurs continue to get solid production from Rudy Gay once again, ensuring he will be key for the Silver and Black as they get closer to clinching a playoff berth.
Gay finished with 13 points and five rebounds on the night. San Antonio brought in Gay to be that natural born scorer next to Aldridge and Kawhi Leonard but with Leonard out, he will be the next in line to help out in the scoring column. The past two games have seen Rudy average 17.0 points per game off the bench.
UP NEXT:
The Spurs are now 45-33 on the season and will return to the court tonight when they take on Lonzo Ball and the LA Lakers (33-44) at 9:30 p.m. CST right back at the Staples Center.
