INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The Clippers turn it on in the third quarter to knock off the feisty San Antonio Spurs 122-117 on Tuesday night. Los Angeles move to 47-32 and are in a wire-to-wire battle with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Golden State Warriors, Denver Nuggets and Memphis Grizzlies for fourth place in the Western Conference, which would give them home court advantage in the first round. They are back at it tonight as they face-off against the Houston rockets in their final home game of the regular season.
Here are some takeaways from the Clippers win over the Spurs:
Clips play with their food early
The Clippers are in a midst of chasing a playoff spot and every win is important here on out to improve their place in the Western Conference standings.
Kawhi Leonard wasn’t available for the team tonight and Los Angeles struggled early.
They came out with no sense of urgency.
Los Angeles was in a hard fought battle early on. They walked away from the first quarter holding on to just a 28-26 lead.
The second quarter didn’t get any better as they weren’t able to extend their lead against the lowly Spurs.
It was not the type of effort you would look for from a team with a great opportunity ahead of them.
Luckily for them they turned it on in the third quarter.
Third quarter takeover
The Clippers got a good talk from their coaches after their first half struggles and picked it up in the third quarter.
The third quarter saw the offense find a rhythm and found that urgency needed to win.
Los Angeles outscored the Spurs 37-26 in the third quarter behind a really good quarter for Derrick Jones Jr. who scored 10 of his 18 points in the quarter.
Jones Jr., James Harden (7), Bogdan Bogdanovic (7), Ivica Zubac (8), and Norman Powell (5) accounted for all of the points in the period.
They played with pace and attacked the rim relentlessly in the third.
The third quarter won the Clippers the game and this type of urgency is what’s needed to help this teams place in the Western Conference standings.
20-20 for Zubac
Ivica Zubac has played on another level to finish the season.
He has played like one of the best bigs in the NBA during this stretch.
Zubac was back at it again tonight!
He showed his brilliance scoring, rebounding and finding his teammates for easy buckets.
The eight-year pro finished the game with 24 points, 20 rebounds and five assists.
It is his 12th straight double-double and his sixth game of the year with 20+ rebounds.
According to coach Tyronn Lue, Zubac has been “dominant” this season and he is a big reason the Clippers are finishing the year so strong.