Tim Duncan makes his presence felt early in the Western Conference Semifinals; scores his 133rd career double-double to fashion a 108-92 Spurs win
On Tuesday night at the AT&T Center, led by an immaculate display by Tim Duncan, the San Antonio Spurs got off and running in their Western Conference semi final series, winning Game 1 with an assertive score line of 108-92.
It only took Duncan around 35 minutes of playing time to get 26 points and 10 rebounds. Kawhi Leonard went 3 of 3 from beyond arc to record 16 points to go along with 6 boards and 3 steals in the ball game while Danny Green also played well to add 15 points to the score.
The remaining two starters, Tony Parker and Boris Diaw contributed 7 points each while the hot shooting continued for Manu Ginobili, finishing off with 22 points on a 6 off 13 shooting night. Parker also had 11 assists for the night.
Eric Bledsoe led the Clippers effort to notch up 23 points while coming off the bench. Blake Griffin and Caron Butler recorded 15 points each. Nick Young had 13 whereas Chris Paul could only manage 6 points and 10 dimes on the night.
Playing their 6th game in 11 night, Clippers were expected to be just rolled over by the well-rested Spurs from the get go, however it was not the case as the visitors tried to match blow for blow in the early goings.
The largest separation which the Spurs were able to achieve was of 6 points at 2:24 mark, 25 – 19, but the Clippers despite being tired, showed great resilience to respond with a 6-0 run to level the scores at 25. They finished the quarter with a buzzer beating jump shot from Paul to make the score 29 - each.
In the early stages of the second quarter, there was nothing to separate the teams. The lead had changed hands 6 times before the 8:14 mark with the Clippers leading 42-41.
The next field came from Duncan at the 6:25 mark and it turned out to be the final lead change of the contest. Spurs went on to add 7 more unanswered points their tally to turn the tide in their favour.
San Antonio were able to hold on to their lead and despite a late rally by the Clips which cut the lead down to 3, they found themselves leading by 57-49 at the half way stage.
Despite offering much resistance, the tiredness began to show in the third quarter for the Clippers and the experienced Spurs side made the most of it by prolonging their advantage into double figure early in the third. By the end of the frame, they were leading 87-72.
The Clips tried their best to rally their way back into the contest but the experience of the Spurs turned out to be too much to handle. San Antonio kept their lead throughout and never let it get it below the double figure mark.
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