Paul George #13 of the LA Clippers dunks in front of Zach Collins #23 of the San Antonio Spurs during the first half at Crypto.com Arena on January 26, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. Harry How/Getty Images/AFP
Paul George scored 35 points and Kawhi Leonard added 27 in just three quarters of play as the Los Angeles Clippers swamped the visiting San Antonio Spurs 138-100 on Thursday to win their fourth straight game.
The contest was the second of the road back-to-back for the Spurs (although both games were in Los Angeles), and they were worse for the wear, trailing 78-57 at halftime. The 78 points were a season high for a half for the Clippers.
The Clippers pushed their lead to 30 points midway through the third quarter before a 10-0 run by the Spurs allowed them to finish the period down just 23 points. George surprisingly played in the fourth period and helped Los Angeles extend its lead to 32 points before going to the bench at the 7:09 mark.
Norman Powell added 15 points for Los Angeles, with Robert Covington scoring 13 and Reggie Jackson and Ivica Zubac contributing 12 and 11 points. The Clippers swept the four-game season series with San Antonio.
Paul George made it look easy 👏
35 PTS on 14-of-19 shooting and 7 dimes in the @LAClippers big home win! pic.twitter.com/tCjjGW4d3L
— NBA (@NBA) January 27, 2023
Keldon Johnson hit for 19 points for the Spurs, Isaiah Roby had a career-high 14, Keita Bates-Diop scored 13, Doug McDermott added 11 and Jakob Poeltl tallied 10.
San Antonio, which played without starter Jeremy Sochan (left quad contusion) and key reserve Josh Richardson (left knee tightness), has dropped four straight games and nine of its past 10. The Spurs have won just twice in their 13 games in January.
Los Angeles never trailed in the game, leading 41-25 after Leonard’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the first quarter. San Antonio never got closer than 10 points after Johnson’s driving layup with 8:03 to play in the second period.
George led all scorers with 22 points in the first half while Leonard added 18 before halftime. The Clippers made 65.9 percent of their shots over the first 24 minutes and were 9 of 19 from beyond the arc.
Johnson paced San Antonio with 10 points in the half as all 10 of the Spurs’ players who saw the court scored at least three points. San Antonio shot 51.4 percent but still trailed by 21 points.