Leonard Once Again Excellent vs. San Antonio, Clippers Beat Spurs 103-97

The LA Clippers led by Kawhi Leonard, have defeated the San Antonio Spurs on this Haloween night, 103-97. His old team very inspired the Claw, and he played arguably the best game since the start of the campaign.

Leonard had a double-double of 38 points, and 12 boards, adding 4 steals and shooting from the field 15 of 32. He delivered 15 of Clippers’ 22 points in the final period, holding off the guests from Texas, who didn’t want to go down, even though they had a 14-point deficit with a little bit less than nine minutes left, 91-78.

After DeMar DeRozan’s two free throws with exactly two minutes to go, Spurs came down to 99-95. However, San Antonio blew away three consecutive possessions, and the hosts could bring the game to its end without problems.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5z6cBc7OJY

The game was very interesting in the first half, with both teams sticking close to one another. LA had a 50-48 lead at the halftime, but they pulled away for the first time, with a 9-1 run, which made 64-55 for them during the midpoint of the third. Still, the Spurs came back, and this sequence ended with them trailing only five points.

The Clippers started the final quarter also strong and made an 11-2 surge. As we mentioned, the visitors did come back eventually, but the win stayed in LA.

“It’s a good win,” said Kawhi. “They are competitive group, well-coached, coach Pop is great, and they played their buts off tonight.”

Leonard had help from Montrezl Harrell, who scored 24 points off the bench and was 9 for 11 from the field in 31 minutes. The only guy along with these two, with 10 or more points, was Lou Williams with 12 buckets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPbu4LBfX7s

Only two players among the Spurs had double-digit figures in the points column. DeRozan had 29, while Derrick White added 20.

The former Raptor and a native LA guy, DeRozan, hit 13 of his 21 attempts, adding 7 rebounds. Though, he did turn the ball over to the opponents 7 times. Rudy Gay was near a double-double with 9 points and 12 boards.

Interestingly, the spectators saw 12 three-pointers combined last night. Spurs were 7 of 21 from behind the arc, while Clippers had 5 of 26.

This was the first loss of the season for the Spurs, who are now facing the Warriors on their second of back-to-back nights. Following that, they await the LA Lakers this Sunday.

The Clippers, however, have a four-game homestand starting with the Jazz on Sunday, and continuing with the Bucks on Wednesday, Trail Blazers on Thursday and the champions, Toronto Raptors on Monday, Nov 12.