INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- The San Antonio Spurs put on a dominant performance against the Los Angeles Clippers, showing that they do not need generational talent, 7 '4 forward Victor Wembanyama to get the job done. San Antonio did not wait long to establish a significant lead. At the half the Spurs were already up 68-44 on the Clippers, and at the final buzzer the southern california team endured what was a tough 118-99 loss.
These two teams met twice in the month of March, with only two weeks in between the two match ups. Both of the March games came down to the final moments of the game making every possession critical. The team from Texas did walk away with victories in both opportunities, making their record against the Clippers this season 2-0. Now two days into April, and they meet again.
Ahead of this third matchup, Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue made it clear what needs to change about his squad's execution when they face the Spurs. “It’s gotta be our mindset. You know, just coming out having a defensive mindset. I think we gotta be way more physical than we were last game against Portland… And so we didn't do a good job with their physicality, and so tonight we have to bring a high level of physicality to be ready for this game.”
A couple hours before tip off, the Spurs announced that Wembanyama, an MVP front runner, will sit out of this game due to right ankle injury management. And hours before the injury management decision was out, Victor Wembanyama earned Western Conference Defensive Player of the Month for March. He has now won the award three months straight.
Without their star player, the Spurs played team basketball to come out with the win, and the Clippers did not look ready for what they had planned. While Los Angeles had five players that finished the night in double digits, it was their ability to finish that got in the way. One stark comparison is the Clippers shooting 19% from 3-point range, opposed to the Spurs shooting 39% from 3-point range. Coach Ty Lue knew that a critical part of this game would have to do with coming up the 50-50 balls. Although this was a focus for the team, their execution was not enough for the Spurs 48 rebounds versus the Clippers 38 rebounds.
When asked before the game about how different the scouting report approach is, when facing this team without Wembanyama, Lue made it clear that it shouldn't matter. “Our mindset can’t be different, you know we gotta play the same way no matter who's on the floor, and they’re a good team when Wemby’s not playing as well. So definitely can't overlook that.”
In the press conference, Lue reiterated the sentiment that his Clippers team needs to do better at "taking care of the basketball.” The Spurs now have 49 offensive rebounds on the Clippers between three games. When these two teams faced off in San Antonio back in March, the Clippers had seven turnovers in a single quarter to blow a lead. Lue knows that the lack of rebounding and lining up second chance points is constantly hurting them, as he called it their “achilles hill.”
After the loss the head coach quickly got to the press conference to answer questions from the media. Lue was asked if he sensed any relaxed energy from his players once they knew Wembanyama was out. He gave a one word answer, “No.”