Clippers Falter as Spurs Rally in Stretch : Basketball: L.A. leads, 95-94, with 4:05 left, but San Antonio’s late run secures 105-98 victory.

Willie Anderson matched his season high with 26 points and scored 12 in the final nine minutes as the San Antonio Spurs came from behind to defeat the Clippers, 105-98, Thursday night.

David Robinson’s 32 points led the Spurs, who have won 51 games, 30 more than last season. Danny Manning scored 23 points for the Clippers. Benoit Benjamin had 21 and Charles Smith 20.

The Clippers led, 95-94, with 4:05 to play, but the Spurs scored the next seven points, four by Anderson, to secure the victory.

Clipper Coach Don Casey complained about his team’s poor shooting late in the game. The Clippers made only one field goal in the final four minutes.

“Young teams consistently lose when they can’t hit from the outside, and we did that tonight,” he said. “When our guys shoot, they shoot until they miss, and it wasn’t enough at the end.”

The Clippers shot 43.8% and committed 21 turnovers.

Still trailing Midwest Division leader Utah by 2 1/2 games, the Spurs can break the all-time NBA record for biggest turnaround with three victories in their final five games. Boston set the record in 1979-80, Larry Bird’s rookie season, improving 32 games over the previous season.

Robinson scored 15 points in the first quarter and added four more in the second as San Antonio took a 56-47 lead at halftime. The Spurs led by 15 in the second quarter, but a 9-0 run by the Clippers, including six points by Manning, kept the game close.

The Spurs are 10-0 when Anderson scores 10 or more points in the final quarter.

“At the end of the game, Coach (Larry Brown) just said make something happen,” Anderson said. “I have a lot more confidence down the stretch than I did last year. Now I’m looking for the ball.”

Rod Strickland added 16 points for San Antonio, which played most of the game without ailing Terry Cummings, who played only nine minutes. Cummings was suffering from the flu.

“I was definitely into the game even though I was sitting on the bench,” Cummings said. “I didn’t feel good all day and I didn’t even want to get out of bed. But this is the type of game and the time in the season when you have to suit up for every game.”