It’s Duncan Who Strains Clippers

Tim Duncan and his San Antonio Spurs got healthy in a hurry against the Clippers.

Duncan scored 30 points in his best game since returning from an abdominal strain, and Samaki Walker chipped in 18 points in the Spurs’ 103-78 victory over the Clippers on Wednesday night.

Walker, who had a game-high 12 rebounds, helped the Spurs soothe the embarrassment of blowing a 22-point lead in a 97-96 loss to Dallas on Tuesday night.

“It’s a matter of finding a niche on this team,” Walker said. “For me, that’s rebounding and being aggressive, and I think the whole bench did that.”

The Spurs, who have two key players (guards Terry Porter and Steve Kerr) on the injured list and a handful of others battling day-to-day injuries, had lost three of their last five before the Clippers showed up.

Spur forward Sean Elliott scored six points in 19 minutes, marking his best production in his five games since returning from a kidney transplant.

Duncan, meanwhile, had an easy time handling centers Keith Closs and Michael Olowokandi. Duncan, who sat out four games from Feb. 25-March 4 because of the injury, made 12 of 20 shots and had 11 rebounds.

“We needed this win really bad,” Duncan said. “It’s good for our confidence and a good one to start a roll with.”

The Clippers took a 16-9 lead and held the advantage midway through the second quarter. But the Spurs, keyed by Walker, went on a 20-8 run to close the half with a 53-42 lead.

Sparked by Walker and Antonio Daniels, the Spur reserves had one of their best games of the season. The San Antonio bench scored 55 points and had 25 of the team’s 48 rebounds.

“The bench came in and brought some energy,” said Daniels, who had 14 points and six assists. “I think it’s definitely a good sign when me and Samaki and some of the younger guys come in and do that.”

Daniels had the highlight of the night when he stole the ball on the Clippers’ end of the floor, dribbled the length of the court and dunked over Closs, who at 7-foot-3 is almost a foot taller than the 6-4 Daniels.

The Clippers, who fell to 14-55 and haven’t beaten the Spurs since Dec. 4, 1997, played without leading scorer Maurice Taylor, sidelined because of a sprained left ankle.

Derek Anderson led the Clippers with 17 points. Olowokandi added 16 points and six rebounds.

“They are just a better basketball team than we are right now -- it’s as simple as that,” Clipper rookie Lamar Odom said. “In order for us to beat them, we would have to play a nearly perfect game and they would have to have an off night.”