San Antonio Spurs come from behind to beat the Clippers, 89-85

Clippers Coach Doc Rivers has repeatedly said throughout this season that the San Antonio Spurs are the best team in the league.

In the final six minutes of the their game Monday, Rivers’ words proved true.

The Spurs came back from a 10-point deficit by going on a 12-0 run in the final six minutes of the game to win, 89-85.

That’s right, the Clippers didn’t score for more than five minutes down the stretch in the fourth quarter before Jamal Crawford made three free throws with 25.8 seconds left. Those shots cut the Spurs’ five-point lead to two, 87-85.

With 11.3 seconds left, Manu Ginobli missed two free throws, giving the Clippers the chance to tie the score or take the lead.

Chris Paul missed a layup with 2.9 seconds left. Blake Griffin grabbed the rebound and immediately called for a timeout, but the Clippers were assessed a technical foul because they had none remaining. In the final second of the game, Kawhi Leonard made two more free throws.

Get this -- the Spurs won despite shooting 39.8% from the field. The Clippers shot 44.6%.

The good news for the Clippers is that they finally outrebounded a team for this first time this season, beating the Spurs on the boards, 44-39.

Blake Griffin led the Clippers with 23 points on nine-for-17 shooting and had 10 rebounds. J.J. Redick, who scored 30 points on Saturday, had 13 points and four assists while Paul nearly had a triple-double with 12 points, nine assists and 10 rebounds.

Jamal Crawford, who started for the second time this season, didn’t have his usual scoring touch, finishing with 10 points on three-for-13 shooting.

Matt Barnes and Spencer Hawes combined for 17 points off the bench.

Leonard, who is struggling with conjunctivitis in his right eye, led the Spurs with 26 points on 10-for-18 shooting and had 10 rebounds.

The Spurs shot two for 19 from beyond the three-point line.