Spurs at Clippers
The spirited series between San Antonio and Los Angeles is now a
best-of-three competition when the Spurs visit the Clippers in Tuesday’s
Game 5 of the Western Conference first-round series. Both teams have
recorded a victory on the other’s home floor, with Los Angeles posting a
114-105 road win on Sunday to even up the series.
The Clippers regained homecourt advantage with a Game 4 victory that followed a 27-point blowout loss. Now the pressure is on San Antonio and veteran power forward Tim Duncan downplayed any concerns. “It’s on the road, it’s on their home court,” Duncan told reporters. “It’s good for them obviously but we’ve won there before. We know how to win on the road.” Los Angeles point guard Chris Paul bounced back from a porous seven-point effort to score 34 on 11-of-19 shooting in Game 4.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, TNT, FSN Southwest (San Antonio), Prime Ticket (Los Angeles)
ABOUT THE SPURS: Coach Gregg Popovich was highly disappointed with his club’s Game 4 performance, particularly when you factor in the important of the game. “In general, we lacked a lot of discipline,” Popovich told reporters. “We didn’t execute sharply enough in what we wanted to do strategy-wise or just in general basketball play. I’m just more disappointed in the lack of focus than anything else, and not being as sharp in a lot of situations.” Small forward Kahwi Leonard continued his strong play with 26 points, seven rebounds and five assists and is averaging 24.8 points in the series.
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS: Though Paul had a huge game and power forward Blake Griffin stood out with 20 points and 19 rebounds, backup guard Austin Rivers might have provided the biggest impact with 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting. Rivers has been much-maligned throughout his three-year NBA career and the criticism has increased since he joined the club coached by father Doc Rivers. “This is something I know I can do,” Rivers told reporters. “It wasn’t a surprise for me. Obviously it is to you guys but I’ve been working so hard and this team has been working so hard.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Spurs PG Tony Parker had a series-best 18 points in Game 4 as he played with injuries to his left knee, left quadriceps and right Achilles’ tendon.
2. Los Angeles SF Matt Barnes (shoulder) is probable for Game 5 after being injured during Sunday’s game.
3. San Antonio PF Tim Duncan had 22 points and 14 rebounds in Game 4 for his third double-double in the series.