Los Angeles Clippers (24-21) vs. Spurs (27-20)
When, where: Sunday, 6 p.m., AT&T Center
Last season: Spurs won series 2-1
All-time series record: Spurs lead 128-41
Season series: Spurs lead 2-1
Last meeting: Spurs 122, Clippers 111, Dec. 29, Los Angeles
Clippers' last game: Lost to Golden State Warriors 112-94, Friday, Los Angeles
Spurs' last game: Beat Timberwolves 116-113, Friday, Minneapolis, Minn.
Clippers' last 10 games/streak: 3-7, lost five
Spurs' last 10 games/streak: 7-3, won two
Clippers' injury/inactive report: Center Angel Delgado (G League assignment), out; forward Danilo Gallinari (low back spasms), doubtful; Luc Mbah a Moute (sore left knee), out; guard Lou Williams (sore right hamstring), questionable.
Spurs' injury/inactive report: Guard DeMar DeRozan (left ankle soreness), probable; forward Drew Eubanks (G League assignment), out; forward Ben Moore (G League assignment); Dejounte Murray (torn right anterior cruciate ligament), out.
Notable: Sunday's meeting with the Spurs starts a four-game road trip for the Clippers, who have lost five straight . . . San Antonio is 72-13 all-time at home against the Clippers . . . The Silver and Black are 16-6 since dropping to three games below .500 with back-to-back road losses to the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Lakers on Dec. 4-5 . . . After facing the Clippers on Sunday, the Spurs have road games against Philadelphia on Wednesday and New Orleans on Saturday. They host Washington next Sunday . . . The Spurs are the only NBA team with an all-time winning record against every team in the league.
GAME PREVIEW
SAN ANTONIO – It speaks well of the Spurs’ depth and next-man-up mentality that were able to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves on the road Friday night without All-NBA guard DeMar DeRozan, who leads the team in scoring and assists.
Sidelined by a sore left ankle and an assortment of “bumps and bruises,” DeRozan watched the Silver and Black pull out a 116-113 victory at the Target Center in Minneapolis, where they lost to the Timberwolves by 39 points on Nov. 28.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich opted to start two big men, inserting Pau Gasol into the lineup to team with LaMarcus Aldridge in the frontcourt. Aldridge scored 25 points and forward Rudy Gay added 22 to help San Antonio win its third game in a row.
The Spurs (27-20) are expected to have DeRozan back in the starting lineup when they host the Los Angeles Clippers (24-21) at 6 p.m. Sunday. Listed as probable on the team’s injury report, DeRozan has averaged 21.7 and 6.4 assists in 46 games this season.
“He has a lot of bumps and bruises – today his ankle,” Popovich said after the win over the Timberwolves. “He came in stiff tonight. Thigh’s been hurting, his ankle . . . He’s been playing a lot of minutes, more than most people. It seemed like it was better to have his body recover tonight.”
Friday night’s victory marked the first time this season the Spurs won back-to-back road games. They are 9-14 in games away from the AT&T Center, and are 4-4 in their last eight on the road.
Popovich praised his team’s performance against the Clippers.
“Guys stepped up without DeMar being there tonight,” Popovich said. “That’s always satisfying. We stuck in there. We got down nine there, I think the second half and we didn’t die, we kept playing and that’s what it is. Thank heavens that the NBA game is 48 minutes.
“Keep playing and anything can happen. So, we got through some stuff and it’s always good to win on the road. It’s always difficult to do and when you do it, it feels pretty good. We’re happy about the victory.”
Popovich reached another career milestone with the win in Minnesota, recording his 520th career road victory to tie Pat Riley for the most in NBA history.
Marco Belinelli scored 19 points to lead the Spurs’ bench. Derrick White (15), Davis Bertans (11) and Bryn Forbes (10) rounded out the team’s double-figure scoring.
Forward Dante Cunningham also gave the Silver and Black a spark off the bench, scoring four minutes and grabbing two key rebounds in only six minutes. Cunningham scored his first basket when he tipped in a missed free throw by Aldridge that pulled the Silver and Black within three of Minnesota, 79-76, with 4:07 left in the third quarter.
“I just told him his two buckets were huge – on the free-throw line and the other,” Popovich said after the game. “It’s great when he sits the way he does a lot of the time and he’s always ready to come in and play.
“That’s fantastic so I thought a lot of guys came in off the bench and did a good job. They’re playing physical, they’re moving the ball, playing unselfishly. They’re doing a great job. It makes the win even better.”
Bertans called Cunningham’s tip-in “huge” and praised him for the energy that he brought to the team.
“He got some boards, he brought the energy, he kind of just, you know, whenever there is just one guy that brings that energy it just kind of contagious, everyone starts to get going.”
The Silver and Black go on two-game road trip after playing the Clippers, meeting the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday and New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday.
