INGLEWOOD — In the largest comeback of this young season, the Los Angeles Clippers clawed back from a 26-point deficit to beat the San Antonio Spurs, 113-104 on Monday night (Tuesday AM Manila time) at the Intuit Dome.
And it took a collaborative effort for the Clips to climb out of a 40-14 hole with 40 seconds left in the opening quarter.
Norman Powell led the charge with 23 points on 5-of-8 shooting from 3. Amir Coffey added 21 while former league MVP James Harden chipped in 17 markers and 8 assists. Ivica Zubac had 17 points and 13 rebounds and Kris Dunn contributed 9 off the bench.
Coach Ty Lue was very much pleased with his team’s will and fighting spirit.
“We’ve been playing good and hard but just coming up short for four games. We just stuck it,” Lue told reporters at his post-game press conference.
This time, the Clippers, who played without the injured Kawhi Leonard, finally came through with a 31-point fourth quarter barrage against the visiting Spurs.
Much to the delight of the 15,927 fans in attendance, Victor Wembanyama shined for San Antonio with 23 points and 13 rebounds. Julian Champagnie aided Wembanyama with a strong 21 points but the Spurs made only 38 of 86 shots (44.2 percent) and just 11-of-41 from 3.
In their storied tradition, the Spurs have not blown a 26-point first-quarter lead. The 26 points was also the latgest advantage San Antonio has ever surrendered in the history of the franchise.
The Spurs hope to reverse their fortunes when they travel to Houston to face the Rockets at the Toyota Center. The Clippers, on the other hand brace for the Philadelphia Sixers and the returning Paul George. (VCV)
