San Antonio Spurs extend winning streak with victory over the Los Angeles Clippers
The San Antonio Spurs (6-1) won their 18th straight game against the Los Angeles Clippers (1-8) with a 107-95 victory on Wednesday 10 November at the AT&T Center in San Antonio.
Richard Jefferson continued his strong play for the Spurs, shooting 4-7 from three-point range for 22 points, helping San Antonio extend their winning streak to five games. The nine-year
NBA veteran, who had a disappointing first year with the Spurs last season, has emerged as one of their top scoring options, posting at least 20 points in three of their last four games. Point guard Tony Parker, who recently signed a four-year contract extension
with the team, had 21 points and nine assists in the win while Manu Ginobli scored 22. Tim Duncan, who was exhibiting flu-like symptoms before the game, had six points and six rebounds in 22 minutes of play.
The Clippers were playing without three of their top four scorers last night with Chris Kaman, Eric Gordon, and Baron Davis all sidelined with various injuries. They were led by Rasual
Butler, who had 18 points and five rebounds while three players – Ryan Gomes, Blake Griffin, and Eric Bledsoe – each had 11 points. Craig Smith made all six of his shots and finished with 15 points off the bench.
San Antonio won the first two quarters to take a 51-44 lead into the break. While the Clippers managed to get the lead in the third quarter, the Spurs had a quick 10-0 run and entered
the final quarter up 79-65, a lead they would maintain until the end.
What they said
While Jefferson has been hot lately, he said he doesn’t expect to take over as the team’s top scoring option anytime soon.
"I doubt it," he said. "You look at Manu [Ginobili] and Tony [Parker]; they have the balls in their hand the
majority of the game. My job is to knock down shots."
Blake Griffin, playing in his first season after missing his entire rookie season with an injury, said his team fought hard despite being shorthanded.
"It's not like we're going out there and giving up," he said. "It's tough. We've already lost more games than we lost my last year in college, and [Oklahoma] played almost three times
the amount of games we've played."
But Griffin did admit that playing with numerous injuries is never an easy thing.
"We got five guys hurt. It's weird; we came out of the locker to warm up and it was like half our team out there," he said. "It's like going into a battle with half your guys. But we can't
make excuses."
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