Final score: Clippers 98, Spurs 95

Sometimes Patty Mills gets overlooked, but tonight he’s hit eight three-pointers and led the teal, orange and pink-clad Spurs on multiple occasions. But the Clippers relied on Kawhi Leonard to carry the offense, and Patrick Beverley had one of his best nights scoring as he had to take over from a missing Paul George. The Clippers closed the scoring just two points in the dying seconds, but Patty Mills suffered a foul, hitting one of two foul shots. The Clippers had one last shot to win it, but a masked Kawhi Leonard couldn’t hit the final blow as DeMar DeRozan gave him a tough shot and he missed it, giving Spurs a 3-point victory , breaking a four-game losing streak. .

Observations

• I’m getting too old for this late news on the west coast. I almost fell asleep before the game started.
• Bill Land called out No.2 over the Clippers Hannibal Leonard in the pre-game, and it’s good to see that I’m not the only one thinking that when I saw that mask.
• LaMarcus Aldridge gets a lot of criticism from fans who think he’s too old and too slow to play, but the attack feels a lot smoother when he’s down.
• Keldon in the mix makes this team so much better. Her energy is contagious.
• Vassell learned a little lesson from trying to hold Lou Williams, as he reached out and offered Lou three free throws.
• Patty Mills beat the Clippers 10-0 in just over a minute at the end of the first quarter.
• With Paul George out, the Clippers didn’t have many scoring options beyond Kawhi. Their second offensive option among the starters is probably Batum, and he’s not so good anymore. Patrick Beverley is a tough defender, but he’s not very good at shooting the ball [after I wrote this, he started to illogically hit every shot he took]. Lou Williams is their second-leading scorer, but they need him on the bench to keep the team in games when the starters are resting.
• This Lonnie Walker IV Quick Release Bucket is everything. It’s the dance movement at the end that makes it special.

• Who was this masked man?
• I might be biased, but I think the Fiesta jerseys are the best uniforms in the league.
• The Spurs are undefeated in road games wearing the Fiesta jerseys.

Game flow

Spurs quickly took a 9-0 lead with both teams sorely missing long shots, but Spurs stepped into the paint and took advantage with Keldon Johnson and LaMarcus Aldridge in the paint. After a timeout, the Clippers cleaned things up a bit and took the lead on a Kawhi steal and breakaway dunk at the end of the quarter. But the Spurs finished strong as Patty Mills warmed up beyond the arc and scored the last 13 points for good buys, leading them to a 36-27 lead after a quarter.

Devin Vassell started the scoring in the second and the Spurs went mad threes, rushing for a big lead. It all started to flow for San Antonio, and they couldn’t hurt either side of the pitch and led over 24 as Spurs hit their shots and the Clippers couldn’t hit anything. Since nothing was working for the Clips, the masked man decided to take the game into his own hands and he started working one-on-one, and the Clips started to take the lead. The Spurs held on their best and led 63-44 at the half.

The Clippers started the second half in an 11-4 run as Kawhi took over, and Pop needed a time out. The Clippers reduced the lead to 6 at one point as Pat Beverley suddenly became a good three-point shooter. LaMarcus Aldridge eventually started to get the ball back and hit a few shots to bring the lead back to double digits, but Spurs couldn’t keep it up, and were leading just by one point at the end of the 85- 84, after being upgraded 39 -22 in the neighborhood. [Later corrected to 85-83 by the refs, who changed a Luke Kennard three to a two point shot.]

The Clippers tied the score as the final quarter began with a Zubac layup. The Spurs then went on a 12-0 run to lead by a dozen. Patty Mills started going mad beyond the arc as he staked the Fiesta-clad cages with a 15-point lead. But the Clippers weren’t done yet, and Pat Beverly led the Clippers in a race to reduce the lead to single digits. The Clips upped their defense and closed the score at 115-113 with 13 seconds left. The Spur kind of allowed an open look for Kennard, but he missed it, and Pat Beverley fouled Patty Mills who hit one of two free throws. With a 3-point lead and 5 seconds left in the game, Leonard took the shot to tie and Spurs won 116-113

Musical break

Clipper ships are made of wood, right? Very free and easy.

And after . . .

For the perspective of Clippers fans, visit ClipsNation.

The Spurs will return to Staples Center Thursday night at 9:00 a.m. to take on the Lakers, who just beat them twice last week. This will be the last game against the defending champions this season, so it will be the last chance to avoid a season sweep for the LeBrons.