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In what was a shocking result, the San Antonio Spurs stunned the Los Angeles Clippers with a final scoreline of 122-111.
The Clippers are one of the most in-form teams and they looked like they were going to get this win as well, but to their surprise, the Spurs came out ready and all-guns-blazing in order to ensure that they get this crucial victory and improve their chances of qualifying for the playoffs.
In the last 5 games, the Clippers have won 3 including a win against town rivals Los Angeles Lakers and as a result, they are currently ranked 4th in the Western Conference standings with a record of 21-15.
On the other hand, the San Antonio Spurs have won 3 of their last 5 matches as well and they are ranked 9th in the Western Conference rankings with a record of 20-17.
Now, the top takeaways from this game are:
#3 Clippers' starters fail to deliver
In every game, you can't rely on your bench players to come and save you. There needs to be a clear balance between the roles of the starters and the bench.
In this game, the Clippers needed a surge from their starters as well as the bench in order to win it, but they failed to deliver, as a result, the Clippers lost the game.
Their starting pair of Gallinari and Harris have been very efficient this season and they are one of the biggest reasons for their wonderful displays this season. But in this game even these two players didn't deliver for them.
So, far Gallinari has been averaging 19.6 points per game on shooting 45% from the field and 46% from the 3-point line. While Tobias Harris averages 21 ppg on 50% shooting.
#2 The parity in the 3-point percentage of both the teams
This match was supposed to be a shooting fest as far as both the team's record has been brilliant from the 3-point line. Spurs are ranked 1st while the Clippers are a close 2nd in 3-point shooting percentages this season and this match promised to be an all-out shooting affair.
But to much surprise, it was not so and the team with the worse 3-point efficiency in this match won. The Spurs shot a rare bad 26% from the arc, while the Clippers were as expected and shot at an efficient 45% from the 3-point line.
These two teams have been putting on a shooting clinic night after night and this has been one of the biggest reasons they can beat any team at any given moment. They're always red hot and are always willing to shoot from the arc.
#1 The Duo of Aldridge and DeRozan
This star duo of the San Antonio Spurs were one of the biggest reasons for their win tonight and they're the biggest reason why Spurs' are still fighting for a playoff spot.
These two seem to be gelling well now with each other and it seems as their chemistry and bond grows stronger, they will be putting on more amazing performances like these.
These two are known as one of the most iconic jump shooters in the league right now and rightly so. They have a knack for creating shots for themselves and making them in an uncanny way.
Aldridge has been averaging 19.5 points per contest while DeRozan is putting up his normal numbers of 23 points per game.
In their next game, the San Antonio Spurs will face the Boston Celtics where they would look to keep building momentum, while the Los Angeles Clippers host the Philadelphia 76ers.
