Final Score: Spurs hold off Clippers, win 125-118

The return of the Frenchmen.

Tony Parker made his return to action after missing eight of the last nine games. He looks to have greatly benefited from the rest and made quite the impact with his scoring in this game. He dropped 26 points on 18 shots, tallied four helpers and even got a couple of steals. Most importantly, he moved well and didn't re-aggravate that hammy. Good to have Tony back.

The other Frenchman, Boris Diaw, also found his stoke in this one. Boris had been struggling with his shot this season so it was really nice to see him hit 9 of his 11 shots for 23 points. In typical Boris fashion he also had six boards and three assists. Hopefully he's out of his funk and gets back to his regular valuable self.

The Spurs defense left a bit to be desired in this one, with the Clips scoring all of those points on 50% shooting. It does give Pop plenty to go over in the film session and the Spurs picked up the win on the back of their offense.

That offense was incredible for most of the night. There were a couple of lulls and stuck balls, but for the most part the Spurs whipped the ball around, took advantage of the Clips giving them open corner threes by the handful and played their most complete offensive game this season. Let's hope it carries forward as the Spurs get closer and closer to #FullSquad. With 13 of the 15 guys on the roster available the Spurs are getting close. Can't wait.

Most of the team was good tonight, with Baynes the most obvious exception. He just didn't have it tonight. Kyle Anderson continues to intrigue me with his potential. I can't wait to see what he looks like in a couple of seasons. Beli, CoJo and Danny Green were all good and made timely contributions.

The Spurs controlled most of the game, once opening up a 17-point lead in the third quarter after hitting 30 of their 40 first half field goals and entering the half up 72-60. The Clippers then slowly erased their deficit and tied it at 102 four minutes into the fourth. Then Manu assisted on four straight Spurs buckets, including a ridiculous behind the head pass to Danny for a corner triple. it was jaw-dropping.

The Spurs held on and  improve to 18-11, though they are still in the seven-seed a couple of games back from the Clippers in the loss column.

GIF of the Night:

Here's that crazy behind the head pass from Manu.

Notes:

• Manu Ginobili had a variety of highlight worthy plays and we'll cover them in the GIF Breakdown. He finished with 19 points and 10 assists. Tim Duncan also recorded a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds.
• The Spurs' 72 first-half points are a season high.
• Tim Duncan passed Reggie Miller for 17th on the all-time scoring list. Big Fun is the best and I can't explain to you how much fun I have watching the veteran continue to get it done at an absurdly high level. The GOATPUFF is forever.

For the Clippers fan's perspective visit Clips Nation.

Up Next:

The crazy December schedule rolls on as the Spurs host the Thunder on Christmas Day at 1:30 Spurs time. You can catch the game on ABC. At least the Spurs will get a couple days of rest before that one -- it's one of the two two-day breaks San Antonio gets in December.