clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

The Spurs starters star in big win over the Clippers

The hour was late, but the lead came early.

NBA: San Antonio Spurs at Los Angeles Clippers Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

The good guys’ starting five got out to a huge lead against the Clippers and never looked back. On a night where the Spurs did not shoot particularly well from deep (32.4%) and only got to the line 6 times, energy and hustle carried them for the game. In what’s becoming routine for Dejounte Murray in his franchise-record 6th triple-double of the season, he led the team with 24 points and stacked the tree with gifts of 14 assists, 12 rebounds, and 4 steals. Jakob Poeltl and Keldon Johnson each had a double-double with Poeltl scoring 17 and grabbing 11 boards while Johnson doubled up with 12 and 12.

What else can you say about Dejounte Murray other than he does everything superhumanly possible to keep the Spurs in every game. He leads by example, and tonight was no different.

My wife walked by as I was watching this game and noticed Jock Landale’s name appearing in the closed captioning. She said, “Just once I want to see a professional athlete with an antithetical name like ‘Doctor Landale’ or ‘Lawyer Landale’ or ‘Influencer Landale.’” I gave that joke a 7 on a scale of 10. But don’t tell her that because she puts up with way more dad jokes than she deserves to.

Londale logged 10+ minutes for the second game in a row, and fared pretty well. It’s a welcome sight for the Spurs who need more bigs down low and to stretch opposing defenses.

Murray went 4 for 6 from the three point line last night. At one point, the ball was engulfed in flames every time Murray touched it and popped a three, but NBA Jam called Bally Sports Southwest and asked them to edit the flames out.

Dejounte Murray was rewarded for disturbing the Clippers’ offense with this feed for the open floor slam. His four steals in the box score does not fully reflect his disruptive presence on the defensive end.

Here’s the Snyder Cut of that highlight, without the weird rock ballad soundtrack that gives it that awkward late ‘90s emo music video vibe. And it’s not four hours long!

Jakob Poeltl is just clicking his heels after this jam and saying “there’s no place like road wins, there’s no place like road wins.”

Here, Poeltl bails out his teammate by grabbing the dime that Murray slips past the cabal of Clipper defenders. Jakob can definitely promote a new skincare line with those soft hands.

Since November 10th, Keldon Johnson has shot a scorching 59% from the three-point line. That’s 20 made out of 34 attempts. The Spurs want him to keep ripping it from deep, and I don’t think it’s any use arguing with them.

Lonnie Walker IV flew in the lane for this thunderous dunk. He also offers two-day air delivery for anyone out there that wants to get me a fresh Fiesta jersey for Christmas.

If you missed last night’s late game, here are the full-game highlights:

Next up, the Spurs stay in Hollywood to take on the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday, December 23, 2021.