San Antonio is rolling, having won 26 of its last 28 games. But its two March victories over Los Angeles came by a combined eight points.
SAN ANTONIO — The last time the Spurs beat the Clippers, it was for San Antonio’s 50th win of a remarkable turnaround season.
When they play in their next and final regular-season meeting Thursday, the Silver & Black will be looking to match their longest win streak of the season.
It’ll also cap the final back-to-back of the season for San Antonio, which beat the Warriors on Wednesday night, propelled by a gargantuan 41-point, 18-rebound performance from Victor Wembanyama. It was the second straight 41-point double-double for the young Spurs star who continues to build a case for MVP votes.
San Antonio is 57-18 entering Wednesday and still within striking distance of Oklahoma City for the top seed in the Western Conference with the NBA Playoffs looming.
Los Angeles hasn’t been too shabby as of late either, having won five straight before a 114-104 loss to Portland on Tuesday snapped their streak. The Clippers are tussling with five other squads for Play-In Tournament positioning and could end up being the Spurs’ first-round opponent when San Antonio gets its first taste of action beyond the regular season since 2019.
They’re also playing with a version of Kawhi Leonard who is not only healthy but a steady offensive force for the Clippers. He averaged 28.2 points in 16 March games – punctuated by a 45-point explosion against the Timberwolves – while shooting 52.9% from the field and 37.5% from downtown. He didn’t play in his team’s last meeting with San Antonio, a back-and-forth affair that saw the Spurs winning by just four points.
Though San Antonio has been dominant since the start of February, its two victories over Los Angeles in that time have come by a combined eight points. It took a historic comeback from 25 points down to win on March 6 before they nearly blew a massive lead of their own 10 days later.
Here’s what to know before tipoff Thursday night in Los Angeles.
How to watch
The game will be available to watch on FanDuel Southwest. You can also listen to game action on WOAI 1200 and KXTN 1350.
Team stats leaders (as of Wednesday night)
- POINTS: Victor Wembanyama (24.5), De’Aaron Fox (18.6), Stephon Castle (16.7)
- REBOUNDS: Wembanyama (11.4), Luke Kornet (6.2), Julian Champagnie (5.8)
- ASSISTS: Castle (7.2), Fox (6.2), Dylan Harper (3.8)
- BLOCKS: Wembanyama (3.1), Kornet (1.0), Champagnie (0.4)
- POINTS: Kawhi Leonard (28.1), Darius Garland (21.2), Bennedict Mathurin (19.5)
- REBOUNDS: Leonard (6.4), Mathurin (5.6), John Collins (5.2)
- ASSISTS: Garland (6.8), Kris Dunn (3.6), Leonard (3.6)
- BLOCKS: Brook Lopez (1.2), Isaiah Jackson* (1.2), Derrick Jones Jr. (1.1)
Injury report
As of Wednesday night, here’s where the teams’ respective injury reports stack up:
- (Not yet submitted.)
- Bradley Beal – Out (hip)
- Isaiah Jackson – Out (ankle)
- Yanic Konan Niederhauser – Out (ligament tear)
Five more things to know
- Kawhi Leonard and Victor Wembanyama are ninth and 10th in the league, respectively, in points per game over their last 10 games.
- The Clippers are making 82.3% of their free throws this season, tops in the league. The Spurs are 13th (78.3%).
- The Clippers have a 115.2 defensive rating, 19th in the NBA. The Spurs have been more defensively stout this season—they have a 110.1 defensive rating, good for third this season.
- Leonard has scored at least 20 points in 52 straight games, the second-longest such active streak in the NBA (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander).
- Stephon Castle’s mark of 8.6 assists per game in March amounted to his second-best month of the season this year in that category.