Spurs vs. Clippers: Game 5 Score and Twitter Reaction from 2015 NBA Playoffs

The San Antonio Spurs seized the momentum back in their opening-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers, winning Tuesday's Game 5 by a score of 111-107 at Staples Center to take a 3-2 series lead.

Perimeter shooting was the big difference in this tightly contested affair. While the Spurs struggled to finish from close range, they sank 11 of 23 three-pointers to maintain an edge. The explosive L.A. offense couldn't find its mark from beyond the arc, going just 1-of-14.

The biggest late play came when DeAndre Jordan was called for basket interference on a Blake Griffin shot that would have given the Clippers a one-point lead with 4.9 seconds left.

It was this close to perhaps being an L.A. victory:

Legendary Spurs power forward Tim Duncan continued to defy his 39 years of age in having another stupendous postseason performance, putting up 21 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, three steals and a key block.

The NBA on ESPN and ESPN Stats & Info noted how much Duncan has stepped up to start these playoffs for the reigning NBA champions:

ESPN's Skip Bayless praised Duncan's showing:

As great as Duncan was, Clippers coach Doc Rivers was a bit critical of the officiating, courtesy of the Los Angeles Daily News' Mark Medina:

San Antonio's bench was huge as well, getting three double-figure contributions, including Manu Ginobili with 14 points, 13 from Patty Mills and a big 10 from Boris Diaw. Mills drained all four of his three-point attempts, while Diaw hit one late to give San Antonio its biggest lead at 103-96.

Prior to the game, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich wasn't concerned about the team's lackluster shooting to that point, per the Los Angeles Times' Broderick Turner:

"

The shots are executed by human beings...and sometimes your shot will go in and sometimes it won't, because it's not really a machine that's shooting the ball. Some nights you're going to be better than others. Sometimes the defense has a lot to do with it. Sometimes you just miss shots. It's a little bit of both.

"

On this night, Popovich's squad needed to be clicking from the outside, and its success from downtown was maybe the biggest reason it escaped L.A. with a win.

Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram did well to summarize the dynamic of Tuesday's pivotal matchup:

As might be expected according to that description, it was the Spurs' ability to execute in half-court sets that won out over L.A.'s tendency to play hero ball and become collectively stagnant.

There was a noticeable difference in the way San Antonio moved the ball as the game wore on. The Clippers also have the less experienced team, and there was a sense their best players were pressing. It wasn't as though the Spurs were forcing shots from the outside. It was their execution that achieved clean looks.

ESPN's Arash Markazi figured it was only a matter of time before San Antonio would impose its will and gain the upper hand in the series:

Griffin was certainly having his way in the early going, attacking the rim with reckless abandon and finishing in style on more than one occasion, including the following slam dunk:

ESPN's Ryen Russillo appreciated how Griffin made the proper adjustments to his game, while star teammate Chris Paul struggled to score to the degree that he did in Game 4:

Griffin had a monster first half, as Bleacher Report NBA highlighted:

But as indicated above, even Griffin's best efforts—he wound up with a game-high 30 points to go with 14 rebounds, seven assists and four steals—could only give the Clippers a one-point edge at the halftime intermission.

No one else really stepped up on a consistent basis for the home team. Paul couldn't find a rhythm as a scorer with longer defenders on him such as Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard.

One notable play from Paul came during a sequence where he did get the best of Green:

Although he did dig deep and hit some key buckets late, Paul wasn't nearly as effective as he was in the prior contest. TNT's David Aldridge made an astute observation with regard to the non-flashy style the Spurs employ to get the desired end result:

HoopsCritic.com's Josh Eberley alluded to one of the bigger problems the Clippers have in matching up with San Antonio:

The Spurs have once again made a Texas-sized statement in the playoffs. It comes as little surprise at this point, even though the Spurs dropped the prior game at home and had to rally in front of a hyped-up crowd and team in Los Angeles.

Now, all the momentum has swung back to San Antonio as it returns to the AT&T Center for Game 6.

A lot of factors exist for the Clippers to overcome. Jordan has to shake off his ill-fated tip at the end and the continual frustration that must build when the Spurs intentionally foul him for tactical purposes. Then there's the matter of Paul fielding criticism for falling short in the postseason.

With two of the Clippers' three most important players attempting to overcome massive individual obstacles, spoken or otherwise, pushing the series to seven games seems like an enormous challenge, despite how hotly contested it has been.