San Antonio Spurs rally back to win 96 – 86 against Los Angeles Clippers, go up 3 – 0 – NBA Playoffs Recap - Part 1
The San Antonio Spurs used all their experience and nous on Saturday to defeat the Los Angeles Clippers 96 – 86 in game-3 of their Western Conference Semi Finals matchup, going up 3 – 0 in the process. The Spurs were down by as many as 24 points at one occasion
at the Staples Center but rallied back in the second half to win comfortably at the end.
"You just want to cut the lead at halftime and that was what we were working on. Everything was very hard in the first [half]. We could not get an easy look. We turned the ball over and they were making 3s, fade-away jumpers and easy layups. Everything was
going their way." Said Manu Ginobili of the Spurs.
Ginobili had 13 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists. Point guard Tony Parker was in terrific form as well, netting 23 points and handing out 10 assists for his double-double. The last of the Spurs Big Three, Tim Duncan, also collected a double-double, scoring
19 and grabbing 13 rebounds.
Duncan remarked after the game that San Antonio’s experience helped them negotiate a difficult situation.
"We did not plan on being down that much in the first quarter, but we understood that they were going to make a run early, and we needed to sustain. We've been through enough of them to understand that's how it goes. It was great poise by our entire team."
Kawhi Leonard was the 4th San Antonio player in double digits; he had 14 points and hauled down 9 boards.
The Clippers made a fast start to the game; with power forward Blake Griffin looking particularly lethal. The home side were up 13 – 7 early in the first quarter and a 12 – 0 burst put them in complete control at 25 – 9. They finished the period up at 33
- 11.
There wasn’t much respite for the Spurs in the second either. Clippers were aggressive and a Nick Young shot from beyond the arc put them ahead 40 – 16, the largest lead of the game. Afterwards though the Spurs started to chip away at the lead and at halftime
had reduced the gap to 10 points, the score 53 – 43.
Tags: