Clippers Almost Come All the Way Back From 33 Down Against Spurs

Most of the first 28 minutes of Monday night’s game between the San Antonio Spurs and the Clippers was a mismatch, a veteran team heading into the playoffs manhandling a young inexperienced team playing for next season.

But after falling behind by 33 points four minutes into the second half, the Clippers made one of their best comebacks in franchise history only to fall short, 94-88, before 8,260 at the Sports Arena.

The Clippers’ modest winning streak of two games came to an end but they at least went down fighting with scrappiness and selfless play.

“We just came out in the first half playing lackadaisical,” said forward Rodney Rogers, who helped lead the Clippers within a point of the Spurs late in the fourth quarter. “We had to understand that the Spurs are a playoff-contending team. We knew we just couldn’t give up.”

With veteran Sherman Douglas not dressed because of a left ankle sprain suffered in the Clippers’ win over Vancouver on Saturday, second-year man Troy Hudson had to play the entire game at point guard. He had 11 points and eight assists.

Hudson teamed with Eric Piatkowski (a game-high 27 points and five three-point baskets), Brian Skinner, Lorenzen Wright and Rogers to allow the Clippers to outscore the Spurs, 41-9, after trailing 77-44 four minutes into the third quarter.

The win was San Antonio’s seventh in a row and improved for the Spurs, who have won to 26 of their last 30 games in a late charge towards the best record in the league in the NBA. Tim Duncan had a strong game for San Antonio with 22 points, seven assists and five rebounds. David Robinson added had 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists but the key early for San Antonio was Jaren Jackson who came off the bench to make six three-point baskets.

“We were definitely playing the hottest team in the NBA,” Clipper Coach Chris Ford said. “The thing is, we didn’t change our game plan at all. We did the same things in the second half as we started the game.”

The Clippers seemed to lose their defensive intensity after the score was tied at 22-22 with two minutes remaining in the first quarter. San Antonio methodically took over with its size advantage and outscored the Clippers, 40-15, to take a 62-37 lead at halftime.

In the second half, the Spurs pushed their lead to 77-4433 points before San Antonio Coach Gregg Popovich began to rest his starters.

But the Clippers, who know that they can not afford to play with a lack of passion, began to be more forceful on the defensive end. Following a couple of big three-pointers baskets by fromPiatkowski and Hudson, the Clippers found themselves down, 86-85, with 3:49 left.

But down the stretch, San Antonio refused to allow the Clippers to get any closer in completing a three-game season sweep.