The Clippers team we saw Monday could look very different come Thursday. But this iteration of LA’s squad not named the Lakers did what it does best during a come-from-behind win over the Spurs at Staples Center.
It played rugged defense after halftime and relied on its superstars to lead the way on a late fourth quarter run that ultimately sealed the deal.
Paul George went for 19, 12, and 8 while Kawhi Leonard poured in a team-high 22 points as the Clippers out-executed the Spurs down the stretch, limiting San Antonio to just 42 second half points, to squeeze by with a 108-105 victory in front of 19,068 in downtown Los Angeles.
"We competed more. We got into ball pressure. The looks weren't as easy," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. "So the defense in the second half won the game for us."
The Spurs led by as many as 15 points in the first half, mostly behind DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge, but the San Antonio offense sputtered in the second half. The Spurs top two sorcerers were held scoreless the final 4 minutes of the fourth. Aldridge gave the Clippers issues throughout most the game as he finished with a game-high 27 points, 13 of which came in the fourth. He broke out against a Los Angeles team that had limited to 11.3 points per game average in their previous three meetings this season. DeRozan, meanwhile, had 21 at halftime and finished with 26. But he had his only shot attempt of the final period blocked by Leonard and the Spurs needed another bucket or two out of Aldridge. Credit the Clippers who clamped down defensively when it mattered most.
Los Angeles improved to 16-4 when Leonard and George play together. The superstars combined to score 12 of the Clippers 23 points in the fourth and it was a connection from Leonard to George on a driving layup that kicked off the game-changing 11-3 run with 2:40 to go. It was one of Leonard’s seven assists and one of the team’s 28. The Clippers are now 18-2 when they have 25 or more assists in a game this season.
Here are six other observations from Staples Center.
Gregg Popovich never coached Kobe Bryant on Team USA, but the head coach of the Spurs spent years scheming against the late great Lakers guard. Predictably, walking into Staples Center for the first time since Bryant’s death brought back a flood of memories.
“To be here, you feel it all over the city. In the hotel, walking the streets and then you come into the building and you can’t help but reminisce,” Popovich said. “All the thoughts go through your head, mostly what a tragedy it was and what the family is going through. There’s nothing like losing somebody and nobody knows what it’s like unless you’ve done it. The memories will always be there, but you just feel for the families.”
DeRozan, an LA native, paid tribute to his fallen friend by showing up to Staples wearing gold Fear of God sweats with a purple No. 8 Kobe jersey—"The one I grew up on," he said."
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) February 4, 2020
Like many NBA players, DeRozan had a close relationship with Bryant that he called "as personal as it gets."
"I wear his shoe line because he wanted me to carry his legacy on 8, 9 years ago," DeRozan said after the game. "Conversations of me just staying with Nike was part of me just continuing to be a part of the Kobe brand and continuing to carry that on. I was the first guy part of that and til this day. That right there will show you the relationship we had."
LA has one more game (Wednesday vs. Miami) before Thursday’s NBA trade deadline, and as the No. 2 team in the West the Clippers don’t need to add much to one of the league’s best squads. But that doesn’t mean the Clippers won’t make a move if the right deal can be had.
The Clippers could us another ball-handler and a 3-point shooter that ideally plays defense. Mostly, they really need another big. Those types are available and the New York Times is reporting that teams around the league expect the Clippers to do something before the deadline. At the end of the day, all the Clippers really need are a healthy Leonard and George. While the team has battled a ton of injuries through 50 games, LA is hard to beat when PG and Kawhi are in the lineup.
Rivers used to have player personnel duties, but he was relieved of those in 2017. Still, the coach will be involved in the process if things heat up. “If it’s a good trade I have a lot [of input],” Rivers joked. It’s up to Lawrence Frank, LA’s executive vice president of basketball operations, to make deals that benefit the club. It should be noted the Clippers have been active the past two deadlines, dealing Blake Griffin and Tobias Harris a year apart. LA’s most attractive assets would be its 2020 first-round selection and reserve forward Moe Harkless whose deal expires at the end of the season.
“We love our team right now,” Rivers said. “We really do. So that’s what I’m looking at right now is how to get the team we have on the floor right now better.”
President Trump may not know what state Kansas City is in, but the Clippers do. After Trump sent out a tweet congratulating the Chiefs and the “Great State of Kansas” on the Super Bowl win Sunday, Doc Rivers joked he tested a bunch of his players to see if they were on top of their geography.
“I did quiz several players on that today,” Rivers said. “They all passed.”
Rivers picked the Chiefs to win and already knows the Super Bowl LV winner.
“You want my pick for next year? I already have it: Chicago Bears,” Rivers, a Windy City native, said. “Go to Vegas, guys. Bears.”
Yeah, it was a Clippers game, but a number of fans showed up to the game Monday wearing Kobe jerseys or memorial t-shirts. While officials began to clear the makeshift memorial at LA Live Monday that sprouted up immediately following Bryant’s death last week, Lakers fans and Kobe stans could still be seen writing notes of remembrance in chalk and marker on sidewalks just across the street from Staples Center.
It’s been two years since Leonard last suited up for the Spurs, but San Antonio supporters haven’t forgiven him. When Leonard went to the free throw line in the second quarter, Staples Center serenaded him with an “MVP” chant that was only slightly louder than boos from a contingent of Spurs fans in the arena. There were some scattered boos when Leonard periodically touched the ball or committed a turnover.
Popovich, notoriously prickly with the media, will not dignify your question with an answer (at least expansively) if it was already asked. After he started his pre-game media session relaying memories of Kobe from all the years he coached against Bryant and the Lakers at Staples Center, Popovich was asked if his mind immediately went to those “moments of competition” upon entering the building.
“As I said already, a lot of those things go through your head,” Popovich said.
And with that, the pre-game media session was over.
