Spurs Rally Past Clippers for 50th Win, Stay Within Reach of Top Seed in West
The Spurs defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 119-115 Monday night in LA to claim their 50th win of the season.
The Spurs started slowly, missing eight of their first nine shots, while the Clippers surged to a 17-3 lead. LA shot 65% from the floor in the opening quarter, hitting 5 of 7 3-pointers and making 10 of 12 free throws.
Despite the slow start the Spurs ran off 15 straight points over the end of the first and start of the second. In the period, they outscored the Clippers 37-15 to lead 66-52 at halftime.
The Spurs led by 24 points in the third before the Clippers closed with a 16-3 run to trail by 10 going into the fourth.
After the Spurs ran off seven in a row to lead 115-102, Garland scored seven of the Clippers’ nine points to get within four with 38 seconds remaining. But the Spurs made four straight free throws to preserve the win.
Stephon Castle had 23 points, eight assists and seven rebounds to lead the Spurs, while V-Dub added 21 points, 13 rebounds, and four blocks. Devin Vassell contributed 20 points including 4-7 from beyond the arc.
At 50-18, It’s the first time since the 2016-17 season that the Silver and Black have won 50 games. With just 14 games remaining in the regular season the Spurs trail the Thunder by three games for not only the first seed in the Western Conference but the number one seed overall, which would guarantee home court advantage throughout the playoffs.
The Thunder for their part are in the midst of an eight game winning streak as they look to close out the regular season on top.
Darius Garland led six Clippers in double figures with 25 points and 10 assists. Jordan Miller had 22 points off the bench for LA which outscored the Spurs’ bench 57-30.
The Clippers (34-34) were without the services of Kawhi Leonard who was sidelined with a sprained left knee.
