Ivica Zubac’s double-double helps Clippers beat Spurs without Kawhi Leonard
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The Clippers’ playoff fortunes rest in their hands and all they have to do is keep winning, increasing their chances of being a top-six team in the crowded Western Conference.
If the team can clinch a top-six seed, the Clippers would avoid the NBA’s play-in tournament.
They took another step toward achieving their goal by defeating the San Antonio Spurs 122-117 on Tuesday night at the Intuit Dome behind the dominance of center Ivica Zubac.
Zubac had 24 points and 20 rebounds, his fourth game of the season with at least 20 points and rebounds, tied for the second most in the NBA. He also had five assists, making Zubac the first Clipper since Elton Brand in 2005 to have at least 20 points, 20 rebounds and five assists in a game. It also was Zubac’s 12th straight double-double, the longest streak by a Clipper since Chris Paul had 14 in 2013.
Kawhi Leonard scored 29 points in the second game on back-to-back nights as the Clippers defeated the Dallas Mavericks to pull even with Minnesota and Memphis.
“I just want to play my best, want to get better and help the team win,” Zubac said. “If that means I’m one of the best bigs, so be it. But I just want to win and help my teammates make their life easier on the court.”
The Clippers started this game slow, holding just a two-point lead at the half. But they opened the third quarter on an 18-3 run to take control, making sure not to blow this opportunity.
“We’re playing for something,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “Like, we have a chance to do some special things and we can’t mess around with this game. I know a few of the guys were tired, James [Harden] being one of them. He said he felt like he was stuck in mud, but other guys stepped up.”
The Clippers have won five straight games and 12 of 14.
By getting this win despite Kawhi Leonard sitting out, the Clippers (47-32) moved to fourth in the West, one game behind the third-seeded Lakers. The Clippers, who have three regular-season games left, would have home-court advantage in the first round if they remain in the fourth spot.
Lue said that getting “whole,” having Harden take his game to another level and having new players Bogdan Bogdanovic and Ben Simmons ease their way into the system led to improved play.
Kawhi Leonard finished with 20 points as the Clippers defeated the Dallas Mavericks 114-91 and moved closer toward their quest of getting an automatic playoff berth.
“We’re just taking it one game at a time,” Lue said. “But from where we come from and now where we’re at, just… We want to get in without having to play in the play-in game and so we’re taking it one step at a time, one game at a time. But if we are able to get home court, that would be very special, especially with how well we’ve been playing at home. Our guys have done a good job of getting to this point and so we control our own destiny.”
The Clippers decided not to have Leonard play in a second straight set of back-to-back games, citing right knee injury management as the reason for letting him rest against the Spurs.
Leonard is supposed to play Wednesday night against the Houston Rockets, the team with the second-best record in the Western Conference. The Clippers then finish the regular season Friday at Sacramento and Sunday at Golden State.
Leonard played in his first back-to-back game of the season last weekend against the Dallas Mavericks. But Lue said Leonard was held out of the Spurs game “because we knew he would have three days off” before playing again.
“Instead, if he played a back-to-back now, he would have one day in between,” Lue said. “So, we just tried it out. It worked out. He feels good. But just being smart about it.”
Leonard’s absence didn’t stop the Clippers from rolling, with five of them scoring in double figures.
Norman Powell had 25 points. Harden came up one rebound short of a triple-double with 21 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds. Bogdanovic scored 19 off the bench and Derrick Jones Jr. added 18.
Harrison Barnes led the Spurs with 24 points.
“Home-court advantage is huge, especially in the playoffs,” Powell said. “It’s a tight race. It’s going to come down to the last game of the season. For us, we’re focusing on one game at a time. We’re not looking ahead and relaxing. We got to be able to pick up all these wins to finish out the season.
“We’re focusing on making sure we’re playing the brand of basketball that we want going into the playoffs. We definitely don’t want to be in that play-in. The fact that we’re in fourth is good, but we got to handle the Rockets tomorrow and then move on from there.”
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