Spurs push win streak to 11 after up and down game against the Clippers

No Wemby, no problem. The Spurs won their third game in four nights and 11th straight Thursday night in an up and down game against the Clippers, keeping the #1 seed within reach while giving the Alien a night off.

It was a high-scoring game from the tip. Kawhi continued his magnificent season and scored a handful of baskets from all over the court. John Collins got in the action too, using his athleticism to drive and finish around the rim without having to worry about Wemby. Still, Luke Kornet was his usual reliable self, providing solid rim protection on the back line.

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Offensively, the Spurs capitalized on lazy defensive efforts from the home team. San Antonio had two uncontested transition baskets early, swinging the momentum their way. They then caught fire from deep, making four in quick succession to build a double-digit lead. De’Aaron Fox, in particular, got on a heater, hitting a handful of mid-ranges and getting to the rim at will. That run coincided with the Clippers going ice cold, and it didn’t help that Darius Garland had to go to the locker room after taking a rough fall. Overall, the Spurs led 68-44 heading into halftime, showing no signs of fatigue or of Wemby’s absence.

LA showed signs of life early in the third. Kawhi regained his rhythm and made back-to-back buckets, forcing Mitch Johnson to call a timeout. The Spurs began trapping him soon after, but the Clippers started generating efficient offense even with the ball out of his hands. In a turn of events, LA capitalized on a number of sloppy Spurs possessions in a quick 3-minute stretch, going on a 14-5 run to cut the lead down to 12. Bennedict Mathurin led the charge, hitting a circus shot and helping force turnovers to bring his team back in the game. Following another sloppy Spurs possession, the Clippers made it just a 9-point game before both teams traded wild possessions that resulted in no basket scored for the remainder of the quarter.

LA’s momentum carried over to start the fourth. San Antonio continued to fumble the ball, resulting in the Clippers cutting the lead down to just seven. Fortunately, a technical call against LA helped the Spurs regain control, and a few key baskets from Stephon Castle put the good guys back up by double digits. The Clippers seemed to deflate afterwards, and a few more buckets from Dylan Harper and Keldon Johnson sealed the game for the visiting side. With minutes left in the fourth, Ty Lue finally waved the white flag and brought in his reserves, prompting Mitch Johnson to do the same. The Spurs walked away with a 118-99 victory, but the scoreline doesn’t do justice to the crazy back-and-forth game.

Game notes

• Fox had a really unusual game. 18 of his 22 points came in the first half, and he only made one bucket in both the third and fourth quarters. This wasn’t due to his shot abandoning him, either: Fox only took 13 field goals and made 9, so both he and the Spurs chose to rely on other players who were more in rhythm.

• Harper ended his night with 19 points, 2 rebounds, and 5 assists on 8-12 shooting and 2-3 from deep. He did all that in 25 minutes, and I can not be any higher on the kid. I think he’s already a starting-calibre guard and could be the second-best player on the team as soon as next season, and I’ve never been more comfortable with the ball being in the hands of a rookie guard ever.

• The diciest part of the game was during a 3-minute stretch in the middle of the third quarter, when the Spurs kept on losing the ball. Even in the moment, I wondered why Mitch didn’t call a timeout to regroup the guys, and I’m still confused about it after. Maybe he had faith that they’d figure it out? He was finally forced to call one but it was almost too little too late, and the team was definitely tempting fate during that brief stretch.

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Play of the game

Harper shot over 50% from three in March and is now hitting half-court heaves. Is he the next Steph Curry?