LA Clippers lose to the Spurs, dropping 3 in a row
The LA Clippers lost to the San Antonio Spurs 120-107 on Tuesday night, which is not a great way to start off their road trip.
The LA Clippers are hurting pretty bad now, recording their third loss in a row. The team started out so quickly to start the season and while competition grew, the Clippers have not been able to rack up wins at the same rate. The latest loss was to the San Antonio Spurs.
Blake Griffin scored 15 points on 4 of 13 shooting for the game, which will not cut it when you are the main option for an NBA team. Austin Rivers scored 24 points, with DeAndre Jordan and Wesley Johnson scoring 11 and 12, respectively. Johnson was efficient from the field going 5 of 6 and 2 of 3 from deep. He started in place of an injured Danilo Gallinari.
LaMarcus Aldridge scored early and often. He put up 25 points on 10 of 19 shooting. Danny Green was lights out from deep, going 4 for 6 and made the Clippers pay on defense for not closing out. Pau Gasol chipped in 19 points including going 3 of 4 from deep.
The Spurs dropped a season high 15 threes against the Clippers. The Clippers were in it until the third quarter, when the Spurs started to pull away.
Team Stats
Turning the ball over has hurt the Clippers in their loses. Four of their starters (all not named Blake Griffin) had three each tonight. The Clippers turned the ball over 17 times, which is way too many for a team trying to be a contender. Both teams shot over 50% from the field, but the turnovers were the difference maker.
The ball movement for the Spurs showed with 33 assists compared to the Clippers 20. At times the ball seemed to move better then it did over the weekend, but the Clips just turned the ball over too much. The team also did not close out the three well enough, letting the Spurs shoot from deep at 53.6%.
Looking Forward
The Clippers spent the night in San Antonio before traveling to Oklahoma City to face the Thunder on Friday, 11/10. The Thunder are in a slide as well trying to work in two new superstars in Paul George and Carmelo Anthony. Both teams need a win because even though it’s November, too many loses early can be bad for playoff seeding later.