The secrets behind Spurs 36-point domination of Clippers
01/01/2025 11:55 PM
In blitzing the Los Angeles Clippers with 122 points while holding them to just 86, Mitch Johnson, Chris Paul and the San Antonio Spurs closed out 2024 with one of their most complete performances of the season. It was easily their largest margin of victory and caught some off guard, not only because LA is right in the thick of an early playoff picture, but also because the Silver and Black had just suffered a losing record on a swing away from home.
“I think we felt like we got better on the road trip,” Johnson said.
The Spurs had spent the previous week in Philadelphia, the New York City burrows of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Minneapolis.
“If you just looked at our schedule, we were 1-3, but I think when we really dug in and peeled some layers back, we feel like we improved,” the acting head coach added.
Spurs veteran Chris Paul points to moment on road trip
The Spurs’ December 27 contest at the Brooklyn Nets served as their only through the upper Midwest and NYC. Paul specifically singled out a conversation with his teammates that night at the Barclays Center.
“I think we might’ve been up 14 and I was just talking to the guys, like, ‘Can we take it to 20?’ Most games, it (the lead) ends up at five.”
The New Year’s Eve win vs. Los Angeles also marked a sharp contrast from the two teams’ only previous meeting of the year. San Antonio led 4o-14 after the first quarter before the Clippers stormed back for a 113-104 victory on November 4.
“Last time we played that that I think were up 24 at one point and they came back and won. Experience teaches you things,” Paul continued. “I think we just stayed the course and didn’t get comfortable. We’re a young team and going through the things that we’ve been through, sometimes you get a lead and you relax, but in this league anything can happen.”
Acting coach Mitch Johnson savors the lessons
All three of the Spurs’ losses on the road trip came in very similar fashion. In falling to the Philadelphia 76ers 111-106, New York Knicks 117-114 and Minnesota Timbwerwolves 112-110, San Antonio led every one of those games in the fourth quarter.
“We just went 1-3 and I think it was a really good stretch of four-game basketball for us,” Johnson repeated. “We just have to continue to clean up some stuff and learn how to finish some games a little bit; more solid.”
The victory against the Clips did represent a continuing trend for Johnson’s team at the Frost Bank Center, where they’ve won three straight games and are 12-7 for the season.
“You just have less room for error,” the 38-year-old coach continued about playing on the road. “When a home team (as the opponent) goes on a run, it looks a whole lot different than when you’re at home. To be able to prevent more of those runs or prevent those runs from being bigger or longer; then having to finish the job, I think that’s the next step for us.”
17-16 to start 2025 after going 22-60 last season, Johnson anticipates the Spurs are in the midst of that step.
“Hopefully, that’s something that we can continue to build on.”
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