After barely getting the win against the Danny Granger-less Indiana Pacers, the San 
Antonio Spurs (14-10) played host tonight to the Los Angeles Clippers (12-14).
The Spurs beat the Clippers in their last meeting in Los Angeles but as the Clippers came into San Antonio, they did not have the odd in their favor. The Clippers have not won in San Antonio since 2006 and the Spurs were shooting for their 14th straight win against the Clippers.
So how did the Spurs do? This is how it went down in San Antonio.
First Quarter:
The Spurs started with the lineup of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, DeJuan Blair, Keith Bogans and Richard Jefferson.
Awesome to see Blair starting and right away Duncan tosses the alley-oop pass to Blair for the quick two to open things up for the Spurs. Duncan then hits a shot over Kaman for the Spurs. Blair then adds more for the Spurs with a dunk from a pass from RJ. Parker 
got into the lane for easy shots but the Spurs defense was rather soft in the opening moments. Clippers were also matching point-for-point with the Spurs. And at the 7:02 point of the quarter it was 13-12, Clippers with the lead.
Parker was hitting his shot and getting into the lane but the Spurs were not getting it done on the defensive end of the court. Clippers were just scoring a bit too easily. However Bogans nailed two three’s to keep the Clippers at bay. At the 2:38 point of the quarter it was 24-19, Spurs with the lead.
Ratliff checked in the game and immediately made an impact for the Spurs. He outran the Clippers down the court for an easy dunk! Manu then blocked Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan. Spurs defense was finally picking up. RJ got in the act with a three point shot and McDyess hit a last second shot to end the quarter as the Spurs closed the first with a 12-0 run on the Clippers. At the end of the first it was 33-19, Spurs with the lead.
Leading the way for the Spurs was Parker with eight points. Spurs shot 63% from the floor and committed two turnovers. Spurs shot 75% from the free-throw line.
Second Quarter:
Spurs started with Hill, McDyess, Ginobili, Jefferson, and Ratliff.
Clippers came out with some energy as they went on a 6-0 run. Blair then picked up his third foul early in the quarter. Clippers’ Kaman then hit a shot in the paint as the Clippers continued to chip away at the Spurs lead. At the 8:42 point it was 37-27, Spurs with the lead.
Out of the timeout, Ratliff blocks Chris Kaman. Ratliff was just being a presence for the Spurs on both ends of the court. Roger Mason then drove in the paint for an easy two. At the 6:55 point it was 39-29, Spurs with the lead.
Clippers continued to chip away the the Spurs lead. The Spurs were just missing shots and Clippers’ Eric Gordon hit a couple of three’s. Then the fouls were mounting on the 
Spurs. As Parker, Blair and Hill were in foul trouble. However, Duncan hit a shot over Kaman but Kaman scored right back for the Clippers. Mason then hit a deep-two point shot. At the 2:43 point of the quarter it was 46-40, Spurs in the lead.
Mason had the hot hand for the Spurs as he was 4-4 from the floor so far in the game and Bogans hit another shot and was 3-4 from the field. Great to see these two new Spurs slowly getting comfortable in the Spurs’ system.
At halftime the Spurs were up 57-46. Leading the way was Parker with 11 points. Mason went 4-4 from the field and chipped in with 10 points off the bench. Spurs bench outscored the Clippers bench 20-6. Spurs shot 56% from the field in the first half and committed three turnovers. Spurs shot 71% from the free-throw line.
Third Quarter:
Spurs started with Duncan, Blair, Parker, Jefferson, and Bogans.
Bogans got things going for the Spurs with a shot in the paint. He continues to show he isn’t just a defensive specialist and for the second straight game he scored in double-digits. Kaman then committed a hard push-foul on Duncan. Was hoping to see a Spur get in Kaman’s face. Duncan then went to work. Hitting the outside shot, and drawing a foul on Clippers’ Baron Davis to go to the line. However, the Spurs were missing shots and at the 6:38 point of the quarter it was 64-56, Spurs with the lead.
Parker then got into the lane for an easy two. Blair got the “and 1” from a pass from Parker. Then Baron Davis got in the face of Blair. I don’t think Davis understood Blair isn’t a “small guy.” Parker was getting it done offensively for the Spurs as they were building back up the lead on the Clippers. At the 2:51 point of the game it was 76-62, Spurs with the lead.
RJ and McDyess then hit a couple of outside shots for the Spurs. Manu then hit a three for the Spurs. Clippers’ Marcus Camby then picked up the flagrant foul 1 for a hard foul on RJ. And at the end of the third quarter, the Spurs were leading 85-64.
Leading the way for the Spurs so far in the game was Parker with 19 points. Spurs shot 53% from the field so far in the game and committed just five turnovers. Spurs shot 73% from the three-throw line after three quarters.
Fourth Quarter:
Spurs started with Jefferson, Ratliff, Hill, McDyess and Ginobili.
Spurs were playing smart and were maintaining the huge lead on the Clippers. Ratliff continued to look great for the Spurs. Intimidating shots and even contributing on the offensive end. At the 8:33 point of the quarter it was 90-73 Spurs with the lead.
Mason then had a nice drive and hit a nice shot as he continued to have a nice game off the bench for the Spurs. McDyess hit a shot clock buzzer-beater for the Spurs. At the 
5:50 point of the quarter it was 97-78, Spurs with the lead.
One good thing about Bonner being out with a hand injury is more minutes for Ratliff. He needs to get more minutes on the floor. He was hitting outside shots, intimidating shots and had all out hustle. At the 3:26 point it was 101-82, Spurs with the lead.
You knew it was a win for the Spurs when Marcus Haislip got time in the game. At this point of the quarter, the Spurs and Clippers put in the reserves as the Spurs had the huge lead on LA. The final score was Spurs 103, Clippers 87.
Spurs record is now 15-10 and will next face the Portland Trailblazers in San Antonio Wednesday night.
Shiny Spur Award: Tony Parker
Rusty Spur Award: George Hill
Notes:
- Spurs shot 51% from the field, 77% from the free-throw line, 50% from the three-point line and committed just seven turnovers. Shocking!
- Ratliff needs to get more time on the floor. He had 10 points, seven rebounds and one blocked shot in 23 minutes of play.
- Bogans had his consecutive game scoring in double-digits (11 points) and Mason seemed to have found some rhythm tonight scoring 12 points off the bench.
- Spurs bench scored 41 points tonight.
- Blair got the start tonight and played well (eight points, six rebounds) but he needs to keep himself out of foul trouble.
- Hill had an off game tonight. Shot 1-7 from the field, two points, four rebounds and three assists.
- McDyess came off the bench for the Spurs and had a better game of late. Scored 10 points and had six rebounds.
- Clippers out rebounded the Spurs 41-37.
- An easy win for the Spurs but they will be put to the test against the Blazers in the next game and we all know how this Spurs team fares against above .500 teams.
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