SAN ANTONIO — The Spurs jumped on the Clippers early and never let up over the course of a dominant 116-92 win in Los Angeles.
It was the second game of a back to back, and Dejounte Murray led six Spurs in double figures, notching his sixth triple double of the season. He now leads the NBA in that category, and is the first Spur to ever get six in the same year.
Recap
First Quarter
The Spurs started the game with a variety in who scored the buckets, but not exactly where. San Antonio got all but one of their ten makes in the paint, and missed all five attempts from deep. They built a five-point lead, and the Clippers called time with the Spurs up 21-19.
Jock Landale was the first big man off the bench for the Spurs, and within seconds he hit a pick and pop three. Lonnie Walker IV, also fresh off the pine, came in and pushed San Antonio's lead to seven with a tough layup.
Landale scored 8 points in four minutes with two threes and a dunk, and San Antonio led 35-27 after one.
Second Quarter
Lonnie started the second quarter with a dunk, and that was the prettiest play by either team for the next five minutes.
A brick fight broke out, as the refs swallowed their whistles and both teams dented their respective rims and turned the ball over like it was going out of style. Between Lonnie's dunk and a corner three by Keldon Johnson, the teams combined for just three made baskets.
When the back and forth scoring started again, it was Dejounte going toe to toe with Paul George and coming out on top. Murray hit a three and assisted Bryn Forbes twice, then fed Jakob Poeltl for an and-1.
Murray drilled two more triples to close the half, giving the Spurs a 62-48 lead at the break.
Third Quarter
San Antonio carried a big lead into the second half, and if the Clippers were hoping the Spurs would take their foot off the gas on the second night of a back-to-back, they were disappointed.
San Antonio kept the hammer down and outscored LA 30-17 in the third, essentially putting the game out of reach.
Dejounte, Derrick and Jak led the charge for San Antonio, and Murray notched his sixth triple double this year. He is the first Spur to ever do that in a season.
Every San Antonio starter had scored in double figures by the time the buzzer sounded, and Los Angeles was in complete disarray down 27.
Fourth Quarter
The Spurs kept chugging, pushing their lead to 30 as dejected fans began to stream out of the Staples- I mean, Crypto.com Center. Los Angeles quickly cut it back to 21, but it wasn't enough as the clock continued to wind.
San Antonio wound up winning 116-92, an incredibly impressive feat after losing and traveling the day before.
Pregame
The San Antonio Spurs (11-18) will visit the Los Angeles Clippers (16-14) tonight. The Spurs are 0-1 versus the Clippers this season.
In the Spurs' previous game, they were handed a loss to the Kings in Sacramento, 121-114.
Dejounte Murray led the team with 25 off 11/17 shooting, Lonnie Walker IV added 19 points and Keldon Johnson finished with 16 points.
Before the game, Gregg Popovich talked about a variety of topics, from Steve Kerr being named his replacement as head coach of Team USA to coronavirus and team evaluation.
Popovich also gave an approximate timetable on a return for Zach Collins, saying he thinks he'll be back in January or February. The Clippers will have Paul George back for this one after he missed five games.
Here are five things to watch for in tonight's game:
1. The Clippers have won three-straight at home and are averaging 106.8 points per game at home.
2. The Clippers are 11-0 at home this season when leading after the third period.
3. The Spurs have lost 3-straight versus the Clippers.
4. The Spurs are 1-2 on the second game of a back-to-back this season.
5. The Spurs are 6-13 versus West teams this season and 3-8 against the West on the road.
Stay here throughout the season for complete Spurs coverage.
Twitter: @KENS5, @JeffGSpursKENS5