LOS ANGELES—The Clippers weren’t quite ready to face the first place Southwest Division Spurs on Tuesday night at the Staples Center. Blake Griffin had his usual performance scoring 35 points and 12 rebounds, but the rest of the team looked jaded in the 103-113 loss against the San Antonio Spurs.
Chris Paul who was probably jet lagged from flying back and forth from Los Angeles to New Orleans to participate in All-Star festivities shot 1/12 from the field. Clippers head coach Doc Rivers isn’t to fond of the short break (Friday-Sunday) and think players need a little more time to rejuvenate.
“I have said it for thirty-years. It should last until Wednesday and I don’t think there should be a game on that Thursday Rivers said referring to the games before the All-Star break. If teams do play on that Thursday then they shouldn’t play until that following Thursday. What we’re missing is the guys who play in the game; they have been doing a lot of stuff. They do a lot of charity and kid stuff but it’s exhausting.”
The Clippers had to report to practice on Monday evening, which means Paul and Griffin only got to rest for a couple of hours before heading to work. And it didn’t help that Los Angeles had to play one of the best core groups in the NBA. The Spurs are a team who has an identity. Although they played without their anchor Tony Parker, they found a way to win the game.
San Antonio’s reserved point guard Patty Mills played his position very well. As a matter of fact, he looked like he borrowed Parker’s shoes for the night. Mills finished the game with 25 majestic points. He scored 16 points in the fourth quarter.
”He was great for us,” Duncan said. ”That fourth quarter, he really took over for that 5 minutes and gave us the lead that we needed. We were struggling trying to find points and keep the pressure on them, and he just completely took the ballgame over.”
Griffin acknowledged how disciplined and polished the Spurs are and hopes his team can get on their level someday.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do to get where the Spurs are and accomplish what they’ve accomplished,” Griffin said. ”They kind of have the model of the NBA and how you want to run things. Guys can be sitting out with injuries, and it doesn’t matter. Other guys are going to come in and do exactly what they’re supposed to. It’s impressive.”
The Clippers will start an unfriendly three-game road trip this weekend against Memphis, Oklahoma and New Orleans. It’s never easy playing in the grind house, but the Griffin vs. Zach Randolph matchup will be fun to watch.
Tamara is a graduate of Cal State Los Angeles where she received a Bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Journalism. Tamara is passionate about covering sports. She has covered the NBA and Major League Baseball routinely for the past several years. A Southern California native, Tamara developed her skills as a sports journalist while working for various Los Angeles-based news publications.