San Antonio Spurs vs. Los Angeles Clippers: Postgame Grades and Analysis
Tim Duncan had 28 points and 11 rebounds, Kawhi Leonard scored 23 points and the San Antonio Spurs outlasted the Los Angeles Clippers, 111-107, in overtime at the Staples Center Wednesday night to even up their first-round Western Conference Playoff series, 1-1.
This was a wild affair.
The Spurs built a 10-point lead midway through the fourth quarter, only to see the Clippers close the period on a 16-6 run to send the game into overtime.
Los Angeles actually led, 94-92, with 8.6 seconds remaining, but Chris Paul fouled Patty Mills in transition. Mills sunk both free throws to prompt the extra session.
Mills proceeded to score eight points in overtime to seal the win.
Blake Griffin had a triple-double for the Clippers, posting 29 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists. However, it was his turnover which led to Mills getting fouled at the end of regulation.
San Antonio played the last several minutes of the fourth and the entire overtime period without Tony Parker, who injured his Achilles. Manu Ginobili was unavailable for the waning moments of the final quarter and in overtime due to fouling out.
After the game, head coach Gregg Popovich did not know of Parker's condition, per Paul Garcia of Project Spurs:
The Spurs shot 46.2 percent from the floor and committed just nine turnovers.
The Clippers made just 42.4 percent of their shots and went 20-of-37 from the free-throw line.
Game 3 is Friday night at the AT&T Center at 9:30 p.m. ET. Catch the action on ESPN.
| Tim Duncan | A+ |
| Tony Parker | F |
| Manu Ginobili | D |
| Kawhi Leonard | A- |
| Danny Green | B- |
| Rest of Team | A+ |
| Chris Paul | A |
| Blake Griffin | A+ |
| DeAndre Jordan | B+ |
| J.J. Redick | C |
| Jamal Crawford | D- |
| Rest of Team | F |
San Antonio Spurs
Tim Duncan: A+
Duncan took over this basketball game.
The future Hall-of-Famer put on a vintage performance, dropping 28 points, 11 rebounds and four assists.
Duncan went to work on DeAndre Jordan, going 14-of-23 from the floor and simply abusing the Defensive Player of the Year candidate with an arsenal of moves in the post. Duncan used glass, made floaters, grabbed big offensive boards, etc.
Popovich was left in awe, per Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News:
To Boris Diaw, Duncan isn't just ageless; he is actually, well, regressing in terms of age, per Ramona Shelburne of ESPN LA:
The Clippers simply had no answer for arguably the greatest power forward to ever step on the court.
Tony Parker: F
Tony Parker had an abysmal game.
Clearly affected by thigh and ankle injuries, Parker failed to register a free throw, going 0-of-6 from the floor in 30 minutes. Parker then had to leave the game in the fourth quarter with an Achilles injury.
He exhibited little to no lift on his jumper and was unable to get any sort of consistent dribble penetration.
Parker tallied five assists, but that was it.
Manu Ginobili: D
Like Parker, Manu Ginobili had little impact on this contest.
He went 2-of-6 from the field for nine points and fouled out in 22 minutes. He was able to get to the rim and finish a couple of times in the first half, but other than that, Ginobili was invisible.
He missed all three of his three-point attempts.
Kawhi Leonard: A-
Kawhi Leonard was terrific on both ends.
The 2014 Finals MVP scored 23 points off a 9-of-16 clip, knocking down a pair of triples and adding nine rebounds.
Leonard also played sound defense throughout the entire contest, smothering J.J. Redick, successfully switching onto Griffin on occasion and closing out on shooters.
He keeps growing up right before our eyes.
Danny Green: B-
For the most part, Danny Green was limited in the win.
However, he did hit one of the biggest shots of the game, nailing a three-pointer to help the Spurs strike first at the beginning of overtime.
Overall, Green made three of his six shots, all three field goals coming from beyond the arc. To his credit, he also played solid defense and was able to guard the likes of Paul, Jamal Crawford and others during the game.
Rest of Team: A+
Remember the Patty Mills we saw in last year's finals? Well, he was back in Game 2.
With Parker ailing, Mills stepped up and poured in 18 huge points off the bench. He hit two free throws with 8.6 seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime, and then in the extra session, Mills tallied eight points to lead San Antonio to victory. The Aussie shot 5-of-9 and was a perfect 6-of-6 from the line.
Boris Diaw was also very effective, putting together an impressive line of 12 points, nine boards and six assists. While he missed some chippies near the rim, he was much more engaged than he was in Game 1. Perhaps the most impressive part about his Wednesday night performance was that he did not turn the rock over once.
Finally, Marco Belinelli scored nine points and was active defensively, stepping in passing lanes and chasing guards around screens.
Los Angeles Clippers
Chris Paul: A
Paul was not as dominant as he was in Game 1, but he was still pretty darn good.
The floor general posted 21 points, eight rebounds and seven dimes, working the pick-and-roll flawlessly. When a big switched on to him, he flashed his handles and nailed a mid-range jumper. When the screener got open, he fed him for easy buckets.
Paul made eight of his 15 shots and went 3-of-5 from downtown. He only got to the free-throw line twice, though, making both of his free throws.
Blake Griffin: A+
It's a shame Griffin's outing was wasted in a loss, because he was marvelous.
The big man lit up the box score with 29 points, 12 boards and 11 assists. Once again, he took advantage of mismatches, using quickness against bigger defenders and strength against smaller ones.
Griffin made a bunch of tough, contested shots in the post, and while his mid-range jumper wasn't working, he certainly finished well around the rim.
The All-Star also was terrific as a distributor, finding Jordan for lob dunks and shooters on the perimeter when he was double-teamed.
His one blemish was a costly turnover near the end of regulation which led to two Mills free throws to send the game into overtime.
Griffin shot 12-of-25 in 47 hefty minutes.
DeAndre Jordan: B+
Jordan put up a gaudy stat line, recording 20 points and 15 rebounds. However, he was not as effective as he was in Game 1.
While Jordan played the role of intimidator perfectly in Sunday night's win, his role was mitigated in that regard Wednesday.
Jordan was taken to school by Duncan on the block, particularly in the first half. Instead of forcing Duncan to the middle of the floor, DeAndre allowed Duncan to go baseline and drill his patented fallaway jumpers.
Jordan also went just 6-of-17 from the free-throw line, with a lot of those misses coming when the Spurs employed the intentional foul strategy in the fourth quarter.
J.J. Redick: C
J.J. Redick continues to struggle.
After going 4-of-13 in Game 1, Redick made just four of his 12 field-goal tries in Game 2. He did go 4-of-9 from long distance, but the misses from inside the arc absolutely hurt.
Redick, who scored 16 points, is having a very difficult time getting loose around screens, and that is affecting his overall performance.
Of course, San Antonio's defense deserves a lot of the credit for that.
Jamal Crawford: D-
Jamal Crawford played a pivotal role in LA's Game 1 win. Not so much in Game 2.
Crawford shot 4-of-13, going a paltry 1-of-7 from long range. He was taking the same type of shots he was attempting in Game 1 (which are generally low-percentage ones), but this time, they did not go down. Neither did his open looks.
Crawford scored 11 points in 21 minutes.
Rest of Team: F
There is nothing good to say here.
Matt Barnes missed all but one of his 10 field-goal attempts, even resorting to passing up on wide-open three-pointers because he completely lost confidence.
Austin Rivers scored four points in 11 minutes, and Glen Davis gave the Clippers nothing.
