Remember when I said that you might not want to doubt the San Antonio Spurs’ playoff chances yesterday?

Well, Greg Popovich and his squad look like they heard and went hard against the full-strength Los Angeles Clippers.

The Spurs got off to a fast start, outscoring the Clippers 39-29 in the first quarter. They even pushed their lead to 15 with 8:52 left in the second quarter, helped by a viciously efficient performance from beyond the arc. At that point, they had shot 7 of 13 from three.

The Clippers continued their habit of being erratic from the field at inopportune times. They would have been behind by more in the first half if they didn’t perform well from the three-point line, where they shot 8 of 16. They just couldn’t take advantage of mistakes from the Spurs in the second quarter to key any big runs.

Kawhi Leonard was a beast on defense in the second quarter. Even though he was only credited with a steal in the first half, he put constant pressure on the Spurs wing players, consistently deflecting passes and tipping the ball out of his opponent’s hands. His three-point play with 55.2 seconds left in the first half helped bring the Clippers to within five at 59-54. He finished the half with 12 points, three rebounds, and four assists to go with his steal.

Again, they couldn’t capitalize on the momentum, allowing a putback by Trey Lyles, and then turning the ball over with a travel. The Spurs used that turnover to score the last basket of the half after they picked up another pair of offensive rebounds.

LaMarcus Aldrige and DeMar DeRozan provided excellent veteran leadership to their teammates and led by example. Aldridge finished the first half with 12 points, five assists, five rebounds, and a block. DeRozan had the hot hand with 21 points on 10 of 14 shooting.

Behind 63-54 in the second half, the Clippers needed to come up big to help them get back in the game. Nine points certainly wasn’t an insurmountable lead, especially for a team so talented.

The Clippers delivered to start the second half with an 18-4 run that gave them a 72-67 lead. This included a sequence where DeRozan was called for a questionable flagrant foul after hitting George with an inadvertent elbow during a drive to the basket.

The Spurs were able to correct the ship a bit thanks to a few key threes from Patty Mills, and traded leads and ties with the Clippers in the last four minutes of the third quarter. The Clippers came out on top of that duel, turning what was once a 15-point second quarter deficit into an 85-82 lead going into the fourth quarter.

The teams continued the close battle into the waning moments of the fourth quarter, and the Spurs leaned on Aldridge, who made a trio of mid-range shots and a three pointer. Aldridge finished the game leading all scorers with 27 points, nine rebounds, and five assists.

The final two minutes started tied at 102 thanks to a corner three from Patrick Beverley, and the Clippers took the lead behind a dunk from Leonard. The Klaw followed that up by forcing a jump ball against a driving DeRozan. The Spurs won that jump ball but were called for a shot clock violation.

George made perhaps the biggest shot of the game with a jumper that gave the Spurs a 106-102 game with 13.7 seconds left in the game. The game finished 108-105. He finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists. Leonard had 22 points, six rebounds, seven assists to go with a steal and two blocks.

This is a big win for the Clippers, who are going to again add to their confidence, especially with that big comeback from 15 down. The Spurs will want to run this back, as they had a chance to catch up to the Memphis Grizzlies for that final playoff spot.

OTHER GAMES

The Memphis Grizzlies got themselves back to .500 with a 96-82 win against the Detroit Pistons. Jonas Valanciunas (26 PTS, 17 REB, 2 AST) was their main man.

The Philadelphia 76ers got wrecked on the road by the Miami Heat in a 137-106 embarrassment. Jimmy Butler (38 PTS, 7 REB, 2 AST) does not play around in big games.

Jayson Tatum (28 PTS, 7 REB, 3 AST) was the Boston Celtics’ top performer in a 123-115 win against the Atlanta hawks.

The Kyrie-less Brooklyn Nets took home a big 119-97 win against the Phoenix Suns thanks to Caris LeVert (29 PTS, 3 REB, 7 AST).

Kristaps Porzingis (38 PTS, 12 REB) picked up the slack for the injured Luka Doncic and led the Dallas Mavericks to a 112-103 win over the Indiana Pacers.

Elfrid Payton (17 PTS, 11 REB, 15 AST) picked up a triple double for the New York Knicks in a 139-134 win against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Orlando Magic got behind Nikola Vujecic (22 PTS, 7 REB, 5 AST) for a 112-100 win against the Charlotte Hornets.

The Golden State Warriors saw a rare victory against the equally hapless Washington Wizards in a 125-117 win. Glenn Robinson III (22 PTS, 6 REB, 7 AST) had a great all-around game.

De’Aaron Fox (31 PTS, 3 REB, 5 AST) helped his Sacramento Kings to a rare 113-109 victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves.