Spurs have dominated series against Clippers

Reporting from San Antonio — History hasn’t been kind to the Clippers when they have faced the San Antonio Spurs.

There was the time the Clippers lost 18 straight games to the Spurs.

There is the 29-113 overall record the franchise has produced against the Spurs.

There is the nearly 10-year drought for the Clippers in San Antonio, site of Wednesday night’s game.

Not many teams have had success against the Spurs, who won four NBA championships from 1999 to 2007.

“They’ve had great success and they’ve had it for a reason,” said Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro, who played six years with the Spurs, his final season when Tim Duncan was a rookie. “You’re going to have to go in there and win a game. They’re not going to give you anything with all their experience.”

The last time the Clippers won in San Antonio was Jan. 31, 2002, a 91-87 victory.

The Clippers had lost 18 consecutive games to the Spurs until L.A. pulled out a 90-85 victory at Staples Center on Dec. 1, 2010.

Chris Paul felt that same pain against the Spurs when he played for the New Orleans Hornets.

Both were in the Southwest Division that the Spurs ruled during his six years in New Orleans. They met four times a year, usually with the Spurs coming out on top.

“I’ve played against San Antonio probably more than anybody else I’ve played against in the league, and they are just steady,” Paul said. “That’s the thing that you learn to love about them. They have a method and they stick to it.”

Paul marveled at how successful Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili have been with the Spurs over their careers.

“They are definitely considered one of the best teams in the West,” Paul said. “Anybody who knows basketball knows that. People can say whatever they want — they are getting old — but to me they just get wiser.… As long as those guys are on the court, they are going to be a really good team.”

Duncan, at 35, is not the player he once was. He doesn’t jump as high and can’t carry the Spurs the way he once could.

But he’s still the Big Fundamental, someone Clippers center DeAndre Jordan has much respect for and will spend plenty of time defending.

“He’s a Hall of Famer,” Jordan said. “It’s always great to play against him. I just have to be patient on defense against them because they’ll pump-fake a lot, especially Duncan, DeJuan Blair and Tiago Splitter. But I’m still going to try and protect the paint as much as possible, whether it’s a blocked shot or just try to alter shots.”

Rebound, rebound, rebound

With the 6-foot-11 Jordan and 6-10 Blake Griffin playing above the rim, it wouldn’t figure the Clippers would have problems collecting rebounds.

But that hasn’t been the case — not in the two exhibition games against the Lakers and not in the season opener against the Golden State Warriors.

The fact that the Clippers have given up so many offensive rebounds is an issue.

The Lakers had 10 offensive rebounds in the each game and the Warriors had 17 on Sunday night.

“We need to get better on the defensive end, no question,” Del Negro said. “That is a concern and I think we can do a better job.”

Last season, the Clippers averaged 42.1 rebounds a game, which ranked them 15th in the NBA.