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Spurs Beat Clippers In Game 1, 108-92: Tim Duncan's Double-Double Leads San Antonio

By PAUL J. WEBER 05/16/12 03:52 AM ET AP

Spurs Clippers
San Antonio Spurs' Tim Duncan, center, congratulates teammates Tony Parker, left, of France, and Manu Ginobili, right, of Argentina, during the third quarter of Game 1 of an NBA basketball Western Conference semifinal playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday, May 15, 2012, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

SAN ANTONIO -- The San Antonio Spurs had just taken Game 1, and Manu Ginobili didn't want to hear another word about winning 15 in a row or not losing in more than a month.

"I don't even want to know about that," Ginobili said.

On the other side of the AT&T Center, Clippers' All-Star Chris Paul needed no reminder that his wretched performance contributed to the Spurs' 108-92 victory over Los Angeles in the opener of the Western Conference semifinals on Tuesday night.

He just needed to deliver the message to his kid.

"Good game, Daddy," Paul's young son told this father in the locker room.

"No, bad game," Paul answered. "Daddy had a bad game. Daddy couldn't make a shot."

The Clippers – once again – won't have much time to get better.

Tim Duncan had 26 points and 10 rebounds following an eight-day layoff for the top-seeded Spurs, who wore down Los Angeles in what was the sixth game in 11 day for the Clippers. Game 2 on Thursday night will make it seven in fewer than two weeks.

"It's hard to tell if they were tired or not. If we were rusty or not," Ginobili said. "The game just developed that way it did."

By that, he meant the latest Spurs blowout.

The Spurs have won 15 in a row, haven't lost since April 11 and are winning by an average margin of nearly 17 points during that span. It's the longest winning streak in the NBA playoffs since the 2004 Spurs carried 17 straight wins into the second round that season.

That Spurs team, however, wound up dropping four straight to the Lakers and lost that series. The Clippers have a lot of work to do if they're going to stage a similar stunner, and a good start would be getting healthy.

Blake Griffin scored 15 points in 28 minutes a day after estimating his sprained left knee had him feeling "80 percent" at best. The All-Star said he became tired quicker than usual, and also turned his left ankle early in the game.

"But I'll get back in the training room, get treatment and hope to be better the next game," Griffin said.

The marquee matchup of the series – All-Star point guards Tony Parker and Chris Paul – began with a fizzle.

Paul, who ended the first round with an aching hip, scored just six points and didn't make a single basket in the second half. Parker was barely any better, putting together seven points and 11 assists, and didn't talk to reporters after the game.

"I felt I got all the shots that I wanted. I just didn't make them," Paul said. "That's the most frustrating part. Getting to where I wanted to and not seeing them go down. Can't do that in the playoffs."

The beat-up and banged-up Clippers now have one full day of rest – which is all the time they've had to recover between games for the past week and a half. Los Angeles couldn't even fly home after knocking out the Grizzlies on Sunday in Game 7 of a grueling series that had the Clippers hobbling next to Texas.

Rookie Kawhi Leonard added 16 points, hitting all three of his 3s, and Danny Green added 15 points for the Spurs.

Caron Butler scored 15 points and Nick Young had 13 for the Clippers. Los Angeles cut the deficit to single digits in the fourth quarter before San Antonio ran away with its 11th double-digit victory during this dominating winning streak.

The Clippers didn't even need San Antonio's help getting more bumps and bruises. Mo Williams, already playing with his sore right fingers taped, took a lump on the head when teammate Reggie Evans inadvertently kicked him after Williams fell on his back in the lane.

Parker, meanwhile, finally felt the hard knocks and slow-him-down shoves that Utah repeatedly promised but never delivered in the first round. Sometimes, the All-Star looked in vain to officials when the whistle didn't blow. When that didn't work once in the first quarter, he kept jabbering about a no-call on the last possession while lining up to shoot free throws on the current one.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, pacing and sensing an impending technical foul, silenced his leading scorer.

"Tony!" Popovich snapped from the sideline. "Shoot!"

Parker waved off the NBA Coach of the Year – he was under control. But his frustrations didn't end there. He was 1 for 9 despite playing 38 minutes, scoring all but two of his points at the foul line.

"He didn't score, but he got 11 assists," Ginobili said. "That's who we are. Sometimes it's not going to be him."

Notes: The Spurs tied a franchise playoff record with 13 3-pointers. Before this became the deepest Spurs team yet under Popovich, Butler said he came so close to signing with the Spurs after the lockout that he canceled a flight to San Antonio when the Clippers counteroffered. "They made a great pitch," Butler said. ... Leonard finished fourth in the Rookie of the Year voting, the highest finish for a Spurs player since Ginobili finished fourth in 2003. Said Popovich: "He's done a good enough job to make me trust him to be in the starting lineup. I'm happy for him."

FOLLOW SPORTS

SAN ANTONIO -- The San Antonio Spurs had just taken Game 1, and Manu Ginobili didn't want to hear another word about winning 15 in a row or not losing in more than a month. "I don't even want to know...
SAN ANTONIO -- The San Antonio Spurs had just taken Game 1, and Manu Ginobili didn't want to hear another word about winning 15 in a row or not losing in more than a month. "I don't even want to know...
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09:27 AM on 05/18/2012
SPURS are the classiest and best team in the NBA currently, and have been for a while. There are a lot of people out their that are simply jealous that their team has not achieved the maturity and efficiency the SPURS are known for. They have shown that these flash in the pan players like LeBron, Wade, etc... are all just flashy players with no real fundamental understanding that team work is the key to success.
04:36 PM on 05/16/2012
celebrate while you can San An. You've had a great year. But it comes to an end in OKC..
02:46 PM on 05/16/2012
As Kenny Smith once said, the Spurs is truly one surgical team. Will easily be this year's NBA champs.
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leorangerie
01:12 PM on 05/16/2012
With Bosh going down, whoever wins in the West might just take the whole enchilada.
12:53 PM on 05/16/2012
San Antonio is very deep now, having added youth to their mix for the past 3 years and picked up two very useful veterans in BD and Captain Jack at trade deadline. I thought the Clippers played quite well, but their two main stars are playing with nagging injuries.
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Blackspeare
12:26 PM on 05/16/2012
Tim Duncan exemplifies what is right in basketball. During the game he accidentally bumped Blake Griffin and then turned to Griffin, patted him on the head as if to say, "My fault, sorry." Can you imagine Metta World Peace, aka Ron Artest, doing that??!!
03:00 PM on 05/16/2012
There will never be another player like him. He is one of a kind.
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nikki717
War...what is it good for?
12:22 PM on 05/16/2012
The NBA play-offs are entertaining this year, with the exception of this series. Booo!
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phantom power
my patronus is an x-wing
09:52 AM on 05/16/2012
As someone who lives on the East Coast, I'm so glad this series airs late in the evening... the Spurs are the most boring, non-energetic team in the NBA and with the Clippers playing the way they are I fall asleep quickly!
12:45 PM on 05/16/2012
You obviously sleep through basketball games or you would see some pretty amazing BB being played when the Spurs hit the floor. You will also haffta watch as the Spurs raise the O'brian trophy at the end of the season!!!! Too bad you don't have anyone to compete there on the east coast.
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phantom power
my patronus is an x-wing
01:44 PM on 05/16/2012
Wow. I have to admit, I haven't heard from an actual proud Spurs fan in a very long time! Thanks for going through the trouble of creating an account to let people know you exist!
With that said, the only thing hitting the floor when the Spurs play are the players flopping. And maybe Ginobili's hair as it's falling out everywhere he goes. Dirtiest, cheapest team in NBA history (maybe Isiah Thomas's Piston's could give them a run, but it would be close). Furthermore, I'd be surprised if the Spurs made it past OKC. And if it's a Heat/Spurs Finals I'm going on record as saying it's going to be the lowest rated series ever. Zzzzzzzzz.
You're right about one thing, injuries are killing us in the East, otherwise Chicago would be raising the O'Brien Trophy.
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Saumya Shrivastava
Broke is only temporary; poor is a state of mind
07:47 AM on 05/16/2012
/ http://liveoncampus.com/wire/show/3380592
Check out the Exclusive Spurs vs. Clippers: Highlights . Tim Duncan HITS Blake Griffin's FACE
|| NBA Playoffs 2012 Game.
Check out Kawhi Leonard, Chris Paul, DeJuan Blair, and Tony Parker getting loose for Game 1 at the AT&T Center.
07:10 AM on 05/16/2012
San Antonio is the truth. Fifteen games in a row. And from the looks of it, they can't be stop.