LaMarcus Aldridge sat out with back spasms Friday night, but it made no difference at all as the Spurs beat the Lakers 108-95 at Staples Center.
What a tough shot by Clarkson! https://t.co/bFye6DTI0K
— Trevor Lane (@Trevor_Lane) January 23, 2016
As the Spurs gear up for the highly anticipated match-up against the Warriors on Monday night, Gregg Popovich continues to play without his star veterans. On Thursday night against the Suns, Tony Parker and Tim Duncan rested, while Ginobili only played 5 minutes, but they returned to action in Los Angeles.
On the ten-year anniversary of Kobe Bryant’s historic 81-point anniversary, and a day after being named a starter for the All Star game, the Black Mamba only scored 5 points on 2-9 from the field, but added 6 dimes in 26 minutes. D’Angelo Russell led all Lakers with 18 points on 8-10 from the field, while Clarkson and Williams scored 16 points apiece. Julius Randle got the start again in place of Injured Larry Nance, Jr. who is still nursing a sore knee. Randle had another double-double, with 12 points and 14 rebounds on 6-14 from the field.
The D'Angelo show https://t.co/dHob3ETgd5
— Trevor Lane (@Trevor_Lane) January 23, 2016
For the Spurs, their impressive play continued. Kawhi Leonard had 18 points a day after being named an All-Star starter. Tony Parker had 10 points, Danny green chipped in 12 on 4-8 from beyond the arc. Manu Ginobili led all scorers with 20 points on 9-10 shooting in just 19 minutes off the bench, and Patty Mills had 15 points off the bench as well.
The Lakers young core of Clarkson, Russell and Randle continue to improve every game, while the Spurs continue to chase Golden State for first place in the Western Conference. The Spurs next game is Monday night on the road against the Warriors, and the Lakers will travel to Portland to take on the Trail Blazers on Saturday night.
Pretty stutter-step by Russell! https://t.co/waBsywICJF
— Trevor Lane (@Trevor_Lane) January 23, 2016
The Lakers pulled within 6 in the second quarter, only to go into the half down 13. San Antonio rested their starters for the entire fourth quarter, and had no problem in this one, even without LaMarcus Aldridge.
The Lakers are still last in the Western Conference as their record drops to 9-36. The Spurs won their 13th straight game and improve to 38-6 on the season, just 2 games back of the Warriors. For all the hype on Golden State and their chase of the Bulls historic record, the Spurs are right there on their heels. The Spurs have yet to play Golden State this season, and their first match-up is on Monday.
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