3 Keys to San Antonio Spurs Closing Out Clippers in Game 6 Home Contest

After earning three victories in five hard-fought games, the San Antonio Spurs have an opportunity to close out their first-round series against the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday, April 30, at the AT&T Center.

The defending-champion Spurs have a few keys to eliminating the Clippers—beyond the nightly production from Kawhi Leonard and Tim Duncan, that is.

San Antonio's defense is a major component of the team's potential success, particularly against two players who could swing the matchup squarely in Los Angeles' favor.

TNT will televise Game 6, which is scheduled to tip off at 9:30 p.m. ET. And if the Spurs can achieve three important goals, they should be in position to advance in the 2015 NBA playoffs.

Don't Let Chris Paul Go Nuclear

Chris Paul destroyed San Antonio in Game 1, racking up 32 points on 13-of-20 shooting from the field and 3-of-5 beyond the arc during a 107-92 victory. Then in Game 4, he tallied 34 points on an 11-of-19 mark from the floor and dished seven assists to key a 114-105 win.

When at his best, Paul has ripped into the Spurs via pick-and-roll sets, attacking the rim and knocking down pull-up jumpers. Then, there's the off-balance prayers over three defenders that aren't logical but fall anyway.

In the Clippers' three losses, though, Paul averaged 15.7 points on a respectable-but-not-absurd 45.0 percent clip.

Los Angeles has needed offensive explosions from CP3 to edge San Antonio, and those appear relatively improbable moving forward. Danny Green and Leonard both did a tremendous job defending Paul in Game 5, as noted by Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News:

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Manu Ginobili described Green's performance against Paul as "phenomenal." When asked later about Leonard, he couldn't resist circling back to dish out even more praise.

"I'm telling you," he said, "Danny did a wonderful job on (Paul and Redick), too. When Kawhi is resting, Danny can do the same thing, with the same aggressiveness. They were both key."

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The Spurs had trouble slowing Paul in Games 1 and 4, so they certainly haven't been perfect. But if Green and Leonard can repeat their respective defensive outings and curb the All-Star point guard, the Clips will need Austin Rivers to save them. Again.

Man, that's weird to say.

Bench Production

D. Clarke Evans/Getty Images

In case you've missed the series, except for Rivers' reality-defying explosion in Game 4, the Clippers' bench has been terrible. Like, fourth-worst-in-the-playoffs terrible, per hoopsstats.com.

When Chris Paul and Blake Griffin exit the floor—which, Doc Rivers, how (read: why) do you keep doing that?—the Spurs have a tremendous advantage.

Take, for example, what happened Tuesday during the closing 90 seconds of the first quarter. Los Angeles led 27-13, but Griffin was already on the sideline, CP3 exited the floor and San Antonio ripped off a 9-0 run.

Now, San Antonio's bench hasn't exactly shown itself a model of efficiency, either. Manu Ginobili has made more bad decisions than good; Boris Diaw has little confidence in his shot; Aron Baynes has basically lost his spot in the rotation.

Fortunately for the Spurs, Patty Mills—who shot a career-worst 34.1 percent from three-point range during the regular season—has saved the second unit. He's knocked down 13 of 22 shots (59.1 percent) in this series.

Even then, Mills has been outmatched on the defensive end, so head coach Gregg Popovich has relied on Leonard and Duncan to balance the underperforming unit.

But if Ginobili takes care of the basketball, Diaw actually hits a few jumpers and Mills isn't abused on defense, they'll take some weight off of the shoulders of the duo that's carried San Antonio. Plus, the reserves would also help atone for Tony Parker's series-long slump.

Contain Blake Griffin

Blake Griffin has not received the credit due for his performance thus far. The power forward has performed like a superstar, pouring in 23.8 points, grabbing 13.4 rebounds and dishing 7.2 assists per night.

His big-to-big passing is spectacular. Griffin locates open perimeter shooters with ease and picks apart transition defense. He's been a treat to watch.

Griffin's had no issues overpowering Tiago Splitter, Baynes or even Diaw. However, old-man Duncan contained him during the second half of Tuesday's contest. Griffin posted a 3-of-15 shooting clip and committed five turnovers in his final 21 minutes of action.

Duncan even blocked Griffin's shot in a clutch moment, helping the Spurs squeak out the victory.

But Duncan can't defend him for 36 minutes.

Though Griffin clangs a few uncontested 20-foot jumpers, he won't miss everything. And the fifth-year pro would receive plenty of chances to hoist them if he's matched up opposite Duncan.

The 39-year-old is unable to challenge outside of the lane because he doesn't have the speed to keep up when Griffin attacks the rim. Duncan holds the edge on the blocks, but anything that involves quickness and athleticism, not veteran savvy, favors Griffin.

San Antonio needs someone else to help Duncan limit Griffin's impact. If the Spurs find that defender—most likely in Splitter or Diaw—only a gone-nuclear performance from CP3 will save the Clippers' postseason life.

Unless otherwise noted, stats are courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and are accurate as of April 30.

Follow Bleacher Report NBA writer David Kenyon on Twitter: @Kenyon19_BR.