Spurs beat Clippers for 17th straight time 97-88

[November 02, 2010]  LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Tony Parker had 19 points and nine assists and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Clippers 97-88 on Monday night, beating them for the 17th straight time and handing Los Angeles its fourth straight loss to open the season.

Richard Jefferson scored 18 points and Gary Neal had 16 points off the bench for the Spurs. San Antonio's reserves outscored their Clippers counterparts 25-0 before rookie forward Al-Farouq Aminu got the first points by the Los Angeles bench on a layup with 10:07 to play.

Eric Gordon had 23 points and a career-high 11 assists for the Clippers, who have dropped 25 of the last 26 meetings. The only exception was March 7, 2006, an 98-85 victory at Staples Center in which Duncan was limited to 16 points in 29 minutes because of foul trouble. The Spurs beat the Clippers by an average of 22 points in the four meetings last season, and never by fewer than 16.

Clippers point guard Baron Davis sat out because of a sore left knee. The 12th-year veteran told reporters before game time that he hoped to be back in the lineup for Wednesday night's home game against Oklahoma City. Backup point guard Randy Foye missed his second straight game after straining his left hamstring during Saturday's practice, so Eric Bledsoe got his first NBA start and nine points and three assists in 39 minutes.

Brazilian rookie Tiago Splitter, the first player off the Spurs' bench, scored his first points spent only 7 minutes on the court during the first three quarters and scored his only points on a driving dunk 27 seconds in. The basket triggered an 8-2 spurt that increased San Antonio's lead to 83-67 with 9:05 to play.

The Clippers, who shot 50 percent from the field during the first three quarters, were 10 for 26 in the final 12 minutes and got no closer than 12 points with 5:16 remaining.

San Antonio was leading 29-26 when Spurs forward George Hill missed a driving layup and had his legs taken out from under him by Clippers reserve forward Craig Smith, causing him to crash to the court neat the visiting bench and injure his right shoulder. Smith was charged with a flagrant 2 foul and an automatic ejection. The play began when Hill intercepted a pass by Smith.

Hill wasn't able to take his free throws, making him ineligible for the rest of the game, and Manu Ginobili made one of two from the line. The incident occurred during a 13-0 run that turned a five-point Clippers lead into a 34-26 advantage for the Spurs with 10 minutes left in the half.

Willie Warren, a 6-4 guard and a teammate of Griffin's at Oklahoma during the 2008-09 season, was activated before the game because of Davis injury and made his NBA debut after three games on the inactive list.

Warren, who led the Sooners last season with a 16.3 scoring average, entered the game with 3:05 left in the second quarter and played three scoreless minutes.

NOTES: Warren is the fourth player to wear No. 13 for the Clippers during their 27 seasons in Los Angeles, along with Quinton Ross, Bryan Warrick and current ESPN analyst Mark Jackson. ... Starting C DeJuan Blair played 19 scoreless minutes for the Spurs. ... Duncan's 14 points increased his career total to 20,685, putting him 23 shy of former Spurs great George Gervin for 32nd place all-time and within 105 of former teammate David Robinson for 31st. ... San Antonio's 721-316 record since Duncan joined the team in 1997-98 is the best in the NBA during that stretch, and represents the highest winning percentage of any team in the four major team sports.

[Associated Press]

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