Spurs 125, Clippers 118: Tony Parker returned from a hamstring injury to score 26 points and Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan posted double-doubles as San Antonio held off visiting Los Angeles to snap a four-game skid.
Parker went 11-for-18 from the field in his first action since Dec. 12, while Duncan collected 21 points and 12 rebounds and Ginobili added 19 points and 10 assists. Boris Diaw contributed a season-high 23 points off the bench as the Spurs shot 63.6 percent and earned their first home win since Dec. 10.
Chris Paul had 25 points and nine assists and Blake Griffin added 22 points for Los Angeles, which shot 50 percent overall and was 10-of-24 from 3-point range. J.J. Redick scored 21 points and Jamal Crawford added 18 off the bench for the Clippers.
The Clippers erased a 17-point, second-half deficit to pull even at 102 on Crawford's jumper with 8:17 left, but Parker put the Spurs back in front with a 3-pointer and Los Angeles never closed the gap again. San Antonio missed three of four free throws in the final 30 seconds to give the Clippers a chance to get within one, but Paul missed a pair of 3-point attempts and Danny Green pulled down the rebound and hit two free throws to seal it.
The Spurs shot 75 percent in the first half — the best shooting half by any NBA team this season — en route to a 72-60 halftime lead. Los Angeles scored on nine of its first 11 possessions to build an early eight-point lead before San Antonio surged back and took a 35-33 lead after one quarter on Diaw's long jumper before the buzzer.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Duncan (25,288) passed Reggie Miller for 17th on the NBA's all-time scoring list. … San Antonio recorded 37 assists on 49 field goals and improved to 14-1 when dishing out at least 25. … Paul reached 12,000 career points and became the first player in NBA history to reach 12,000 points and 6,000 assists in fewer than 650 games.
L.A. Clippers | San Antonio | |
Chris Paul 25 | Scoring | Tony Parker 26 |
Chris Paul 9 | Assists | Manu Ginobili 10 |
DeAndre Jordan 11 | Rebounds | Tim Duncan 12 |
Jamal Crawford 6 | Free Throws Made | Boris Diaw 3 |
Glen Davis 4 | Steals | Tim Duncan 2 |
Chris Paul 2 | Blocks | Danny Green 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
L.A. Clippers | 118 | 50.0 | 10-24 | 22-29 | 23 | 36 | 5 | 10 | 10 |
San Antonio | 125 | 63.6 | 13-23 | 14-22 | 37 | 33 | 2 | 6 | 11 |