Clippers Gear Up for Clash With Eliminated Spurs

The Los Angeles Clippers, riding a wave of strong performance lately, are set to bring their momentum into a clash with the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday in Inglewood, California. This surge has started yielding notable outcomes for the team following their rigorous efforts.

The Clippers have gone 14-3 since March 5 and only recently have moved up from play-in tournament status to gain a strong chance of capturing a top-six playoff qualifying spot in the Western Conference.

The work isn’t over yet for the Clippers (46-32), who find themselves in a logjam of teams teetering between the play-in tournament and direct playoff entry in the Western Conference standings. They share identical records with the Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Memphis Grizzlies, but due to tiebreaker rules, Los Angeles sits at fifth place in the West, followed closely by Golden State at sixth.

A key factor in the Clippers' improvement has been the development of a reliable offense complementing their well-established strong defense. Following a delayed start in January due to knee issues, Kawhi Leonard has returned to an exceptional performance level.

After Leonard played on back-to-back days for the first time this season on Friday and Saturday, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue stated, “He’s been performing exceptionally well since his return.” He added, “It usually takes a few games to get rid of the rust, but apart from that, he has looked like Kawhi. There wasn’t anything different about his performance on (Saturday).”

In Los Angeles' second-best scoring performance of the season, they secured a decisive 135-104 win against the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday. Both Kawhi Leonard and James Harden contributed 29 points apiece, with Ivica Zubac making an impressive 25 points off perfect 11-of-11 shooting, along with pulling down 10 rebounds.

Zubac became the first player in NBA history to score at least 25 points with double-digit rebounds and no turnovers, all while not missing a shot from the floor.

I was aware that I hadn’t made any mistakes, yet I had no idea that nobody had done it previously," Zubac stated. "Every evening when I go onto the court to compete, my teammates seek me out, trust me with the ball, pass it to me, and since we’re also winning games, it’s been quite enjoyable recently.

When the San Antonio Spurs (32-46) suffered a 120-109 defeat away at the hands of the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday, they officially missed their chance to qualify for the playoffs. Their key player, center Victor Wembanyama, had been sidelined for the remainder of the season due to a blood clot in his shoulder since February.

Stephon Castle tallied 22 points, with Devin Vassell contributing 21 in the game held in Portland. The Spurs struggled to make a comeback after falling behind 33-18 in the initial quarter. Despite pulling within two points later in the match, San Antonio ultimately couldn’t close the gap.

"We certainly hoped (Wembanyama) would keep battling alongside us in pursuit of the playoffs, but things didn’t work out," Castle stated. "Nonetheless, we must continue to compete with whichever five players are on the floor at any time. There’s no point in getting discouraged or dwelling on ‘what ifs.’”

San Antonio has won only one out of their last eight games and is currently on the second game of a four-game away series before concluding their season with a home match against the Toronto Raptors this Sunday.

Although just two squads boast a poorer record than San Antonio within the Western Conference, each of the five teams in the Eastern Conference that have been ruled out of playoff contention possess a lower winning percentage compared to the Spurs’ .410 average.

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