LaMarcus Aldridge poured in 27 points on 12-of-14 shooting in just three quarters of play as the San Antonio Spurs romped to a 125-87 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday.
Seven players scored in double figures for the Spurs, who won their fourth consecutive game.
San Antonio (15-14) climbed above the .500 mark for the first time since mid-November by outshooting the Clippers 57.8 percent to 35.7 percent. The Spurs led by just nine points entering the second half but sealed the outcome by outscoring Los Angeles 32-20 in the third quarter while assuming a 98-77 advantage.
San Antonio looked like the Spurs of old, enjoying several possessions of dribble-less passing where all five players touched the ball, and also clamping down on defense. Aldridge had 12 points in the third period and sat out the fourth quarter along with most of the starters from both teams.
Rudy Gay added 21 points for San Antonio on 8-of-10 shooting. DeMar DeRozan and Marco Belinelli added 14 each, Patty Mills and Derrick White hit for 11 points apiece and Bryn Forbes tallied 10 for the Spurs.
Tobias Harris led the Clippers with 17 points, 15 of which came in the first half. Danilo Gallinari and Avery Bradley scored 15 points each, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 13 for Los Angeles, which has lost two straight games and four of its past five.
The Spurs pulled to an 8-7 lead 2 1/2 minutes into the game on a three-point play by DeRozan and never looked back, scoring 10 of the final 12 points of the first period on the way to a 38-27 lead.
San Antonio steadily built on its advantage, leading by as many as 15 points in the second quarter before the Clippers responded to cut the deficit to 59-54 on a free throw by Gallinari with 1:26 remaining in the period. The Spurs then rattled off a 7-3 run in the final minute to garner a 66-57 edge at intermission.
--Field Level Media
L.A. Clippers | San Antonio | |
Tobias Harris 17 | Scoring | LaMarcus Aldridge 27 |
Marcin Gortat 5 | Assists | DeMar DeRozan 7 |
Marcin Gortat 8 | Rebounds | Dante Cunningham 6 |
Danilo Gallinari 7 | Free Throws Made | Rudy Gay 4 |
Danilo Gallinari 1 | Steals | LaMarcus Aldridge 2 |
Patrick Beverley 1 | Blocks | Jakob Poeltl 4 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
L.A. Clippers | 87 | 35.7 | 10-31 | 17-24 | 21 | 42 | 1 | 4 | 17 |
San Antonio | 125 | 57.8 | 10-22 | 19-24 | 25 | 47 | 7 | 10 | 11 |