San Antonio vs. Los Angeles, Final Score: Spurs flatten Clippers in the fourth to win 118-99

Stephon Castle’s heady leadership and playmaking, interspersed with highlight plays from De’Aaron Fox, Keldon Johnson, and Dylan Harper, turbocharged a decisive 21-5 ambush in the fourth quarter to thwart a Clippers comeback. Without the services of MVP and DPOY candidate Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio (59-18) weathered a good first half by Kawhi Leonard to hold the rest of the Clippers to a total of 31 points, and clinched their fifth winningest regular season – tied with the 2004-2005 edition.

San Antonio’s Fox (22 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists) saw to it that Wembanyama would not be missed tonight in the road win. Stephon Castle (20 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds), Devin Vassell (14 points and 10 rebounds[!]), and Julian Champagnie (13 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists) ensured perimeter domination, while Harper (19 points and 5 assists) and Johnson (13 points and 6 rebounds) excelled yet again off the bench. The only pockmark on an otherwise excellent effort for the Spurs was giving up a handful of careless turnovers, by their standards, which resulted in over a dozen LA points at the other end.

Leonard (24 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists), as he has since the James Harden trade, single-handedly kept the Clippers in the game for most of the first three quarters. John Collins (15 points and 6 rebounds) and Darius Garland (11 points) supplied secondary offense, while Benedict Mathurin (18 points and 6 rebounds) came on strong in the second half.

A brisk and evenly-played first quarter featured San Antonio’s Castle and Vassell scoring fluidly while the Clippers’ Leonard built quickly on his first make to amass 11 early points. The referees allowed a good amount of physical contact as a handful of no-calls occurred for both sides. Harper and Fox carried the production later in the period to help San Antonio catch and surpass LA, and Harrison Barnes 100% rewarded Fox’s kickout with a quarter-ending three to make it 33-25.

San Antonio continued its recent trend of building 20-point leads through Fox’s supreme quickness and their defense locking down any Clippers attempts around the paint. The Spurs assisted on most of their second period baskets, and after a soaring tip finish from Carter Bryant, led by 22. More importantly, San Antonio was able to keep Leonard from going further off. Harper’s desperation heave put the Spurs up 24.

San Antonio was stung by an older foe than the Clippers – the third quarter bug – as Leonard kickstarted an LA run to slice the large lead in half. LA put forth a far tougher defensive effort to halt the Spurs’ momentum. Coach Johnson ran out an undersized lineup late in the frame featuring Harrison Barnes at the 5, and a Leonard Miller lay-up brought the Clippers concerningly within 12. Mathurin’s and-1 shaved the deficit to single digits. Two pairs of Kornet free throws spanning the third and fourth periods – amidst a sea of Spurs’ missed outside shots – prevented further calamity from happening and they were fortunate to go to the fourth up nine.

Observations

• ‘Stop Hacking Me!’ Sequence of the Game: After drawing a foul on Kris Dunn late in the third period, Harper backed Dunn down deep into the paint and toss a feather over his head and earned an and-1 to make it 83-64.
• Unofficially, this might be the best all-time Spurs roster ever at shooting from all points straightaway from the basket… Castle, Fox, Harper, Wembanyama…
• In the event of a first-round match-up with the Clippers, the best on-ball defenders for Leonard: 1) Castle, 2) Champagnie, and 3) Bryant and Barnes (12 fouls baby!).
• Castle keeps on getting unfairly hacked in the act of shooting, but denied free throw attempts that would typically go to more seasoned wingmen like Kyrie Irving or Steph Curry.
• Fun with numbers: Halftime score last night against GSW 70-49 / Score with 10:00 left in the third against LAC 70-49.
• OKC 127 Lakers 82 *statementgame
• Sequence of the Game #1: Early in the second period, Fox lived up to his nickname and ‘swipa’-ed it from an unsuspecting Dunn to get himself a transition slam.
• Sequence of the Game #2: Partway through the second quarter, ‘Beautiful Ball’ ensued one possession after Vassesll swished a catch-and-shoot three. The ball ping-ponged in a triangle formation from Castle (left wing) to Kornet (center) to Vassell (straightaway) for a triple.
• Sequence of the Game #3: Take it away Jacob Tobey: “Dylan Harper puts it up… AND HE PUT IT DOWN AT THE HALFTIME BUZZER! THE YOUNG KID CAN DO ANYTHING!” Harper’s 41-foot buzzer beater caused Wembanyama to put his hands over his head incredulously.

Game Rundown

From the tip, Lopez swished a Pop-a-shot from 16 feet and followed it with another from the baseline. Castle patiently ran the Chris Paul high-pick-and-roll perfectly for a jumper, and fed Kornet for a Passenger 57 lob. Leonard’s first two midrange jumpers kept LA right at San Antonio’s heels; Castle went right back at him to do a Kawhi-like fadeaway. The Clippers followed Leonard’s lead to grab a 3-point advantage. Harper was at his slithery best as he willed his way to the rim and guided balls funkily into teammate’s hands. Fox’s kickout to Barnes for a wing triple helped the Spurs exit the quarter up eight.

Harper guided Lopez deep into the paint and hit a smooth stepback jumper, and Champagnie followed with a triple. Then Fox’s steal and score off Dunn and subsequent floater over the same guy ended a 9-0 run to start the second. Lopez’s awkward flailing tip started the scoring again for LA. Kornet stoutly defended the interior in those opening four minutes. San Antonio glided past the 50 point mark with over seven minutes left. The Spurs defended so well that Leonard tried to bait the officials into a call on Fox by throwing his arms out Harden-style (no call!). The Spurs soared into the half ahead 68-44.

Leonard continued his stellar shooting – outscoring the Spurs 8-5 to the start the third. Champagnie impressively muscled home a banker and followed it with a putback to keep the lead safely in double digits. San Antonio threw a few traps at Leonard to force it out of his hands. Johnson drew Lopez’s fourth foul halfway through the frame, and then bullied his way deep in the paint to score over both Lopez and Leonard. From there the well went completely dry for the Spurs, and the Clippers pieced together an impressive 34-19 third quarter.

For the Clippers fan’s perspective, please visit Clips Nation.

San Antonio takes on Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets Saturday afternoon at 2:00 PM CDT on Amazon Prime Video.