SAN ANTONIO – Before the game, Kawhi Leonard beat out DeAndre Jordan for the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year award. During the game he beat up the Clippers on both sides of the ball as the Spurs dominated Los Angeles 100-73 on Friday night to take a commanding 2-1 lead in their first round playoff series.
Leonard held up his DOPY trophy and then exploded on offense scoring a career high 32 points with three steals as the Spurs lead from wire to wire.
"We were active, we had energy out there, and we all bought in to the game plan," said Leonard after the game. "The Clippers had some wide open shots that they didn't knock down, so it was just unlucky for them tonight."
Boris Diaw had 15 points off the bench and Danny Green added 11 as the Spurs led by as many as 37 points before the reserves took over in the fourth quarter.
The Clippers scored a career franchise low 73 points in the playoffs and were held to just 30 percent from the field, their lowest total in the playoffs in team history.
"We lose our spirit because we couldn't make shots," said Clippers head coach Doc Rivers. "I thought that's what happened as the game went on and every time we missed a shot we played less and less defense."
San Antonio stole home court advantage from the Los Angeles Clippers in game two. On Friday, they made sure they held their home court as they surged ahead in the third quarter and never looked back, dominating the Clippers in every facet of the game.
"We're not that good, and they're not what you saw tonight," said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. "Without a doubt. We just had one hell of a night."
The Clippers were atrocious in the third quarter as they scored only 11 points total. By comparison, Leonard had 13 points in the third quarter alone. It was the lowest point total by Los Angeles in any quarter this season.
Los Angeles had 49 points through three quarters, their lowest total of the season. The Houston Rockets scored 42 points in the first quarter on Friday in game three of their playoff matchup against the Dallas Mavericks.
Jamal Crawford and Chris Paul struggled mightily as they shot a combined 4-22 from the field.
Blake Griffin led Los Angeles with 14 points and 10 rebounds. DeAndre Jordan had 10.
Leonard electrified the crowd in the second quarter when he rose above the rim for a one-handed alley-oop slam that garnered a standing ovation from the Texas crowd. The slam-dunk put an exclamation point on a 9-0 run by the Spurs that had them up by 13.
Two days after leaving game two with an Achilles injury, Tony Parker returned to the court and attacked the paint with surprising speed and quickness. When Parker is able to penetrate to the basket it breaks down the Clippers defense and opens up shooters like Green and Leonard on the perimeter.
Game Notes:
Chris Paul played in his 700th career game. The Clippers are just 3-8 all-time in Game Threes.
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