NBA Preview from The Sports Network
Thursday, May 17th
(All times eastern)
(5) Los Angeles Clippers (0-1) at (1) San Antonio Spurs (1-0), 9:30 p.m.
(Sports Network) - The San Antonio Spurs have been perfect through the
postseason so far as they get ready to host the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 2
of the Western Conference semifinals.
Chris Paul and Company will take another shot at solving what's looking like a
juggernaut.
The Spurs tied a franchise playoff record on Tuesday with 13 three-pointers
and never trailed in the second half of their series-opening 108-92 victory.
There were 12 lead changes in a tight first half of Game 1 but the well-rested
Spurs opened up a 19-point lead in the third quarter and never looked back.
Tim Duncan led the way with 26 points and 10 rebounds, his 133rd postseason
double-double, while Manu Ginobili chipped in 22 points in San Antonio's 15th
straight win dating back to the regular season, which included an opening-
round sweep of the Utah Jazz.
"Tim was solid as usual," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "He's played like
that all year long. He's not going to do anything that's going to be on a
highlight film for TV, but highlight film for coaches possibly. Just being
solid, making a great pass, playing the defense that he did, rebounding; he's
the anchor."
"It started with the ball movement," Duncan added. "We know they are going to
be physical and we know they are going to pack it into the lane. Tony (Parker)
did a great job of getting into the lane and finding shooters and obviously
our guys shot the ball well."
Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green added 16 and 15 points, respectively while
Parker had a bad night from the field, scoring just seven points on 1-of-9
shooting but orchestrated it all with 11 assists.
"He (Kawhi Leonard) seems to have a pretty good knack for the ball," Popovich
said. "He makes a steal here and there. He'll get an offensive board here and
there. He'll get a block now and then. Obviously, he's a rookie -- he's still
figuring out what his game is. He does things that help win basketball
games."
The Clippers, two days removed from a Game 7 win in Memphis, were led by Eric
Bledsoe's 23 points. Bledsoe went 10-for-16 from the field en route to
matching his career-high.
"I just come in and try to help my team in the best way possible, whether it's
scoring, playing defense, or whatever," Bledsoe said. "Whatever I need to do
to help them win at the end of the day is what I'm going to do."
Caron Butler and Blake Griffin each chipped in 15 points, but Paul, who
finished third in the NBA MVP voting and turned this moribund franchise
around, netted just six on 3-of-13 shooting, although he did have 10 assists.
Griffin, suffering from a sprained left knee, played 28 1/2 minutes and also
pulled down nine rebounds.
"We weren't able to slow them [the Spurs] down," Clippers head coach Vinny Del
Negro said. "The tempo was in their favor a lot. We missed a lot of easy
shots which got them out in the open court. I thought in the beginning of the
game we did a good job in terms of our tempo a little bit."
San Antonio took two of three from the Clippers in 2011-12. The lone L.A. win
came in the Alamo City on March 9 when the Clips halted 17-game skid in the
Alamo City but Popovich rested Duncan, Parker and Ginobili in that contest.
"If they don't pass the ball to an open man, they're coming out. It's the
bottom line. That's the way (Popovich) is coaching," Clippers forward Kenyon
Martin said of the Spurs. "They do an excellent job of spreading the floor,
making plays, and guys do an excellent job being unselfish."
These two clubs have never met in the postseason previously.
Game 3 of the series will be in Los Angeles on Saturday.
05/17 10:35:49 ET

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