Spurs at Clippers
The San Antonio Spurs and the Los Angeles Clippers both begin the final two months of the regular season a little lower in the standings than they expected to be at this point. The Spurs will try to leapfrog the Clippers for the No. 6 spot in the Western Conference when they visit Los Angeles on Monday. The loaded West has pushed defending-champion San Antonio into seventh at the All-Star break despite wins in 11 of the last 14 games.
The Spurs began their nine-game rodeo road trip prior to the break and have taken two of the first against Eastern Conference teams. Things get tougher for the Spurs now, with trips to Golden State, Portland and Phoenix still to come before they finally play their next home game on Mar. 4. Los Angeles endured a similar excursion when the Grammy Awards took over their arena earlier this month but returned home strong with a win over the Houston Rockets before the break as center DeAndre Jordan took another step forward.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, TNT
ABOUT THE SPURS (34-19): San Antonio has not dropped back-to-back games since Dec. 25 and 26 and is hoping for a stretch run similar to last season, when it went 20-1 from the All-Star break through the end of March. The Spurs made it through the break fully healthy and should have fresh legs down the stretch with none of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker or Manu Ginobili averaging more than 30 minutes in the first 53 games. The break offered a good chance to rest forward Kawhi Leonard, who struggled to 11-of-41 from the field in the first three games of the trip.
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (35-19): All-Star Blake Griffin missed the last three games after surgery to remove a staph infection from his elbow and is out indefinitely. Los Angeles dropped the first game with Griffin on the sidelines but Jordan lifted the team in the next two with totals of 46 points and 47 rebounds, giving him three 20-20 performances in the last six contests. Jordan’s late surge was overlooked when it came time to name injury replacements to the Western Conference All-Star team, but Chris Paul represented the Clippers with 15 assists off the bench in the showcase.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Jordan has hit at least 50 percent of his shots in 39 straight games.
2. San Antonio has taken two of the first three meetings this season, including an 89-85 win at the Clippers on Nov. 10.
3. Los Angeles F Spencer Hawes is averaging 11 points in three games while starting in place of Griffin.