GAMEDAY AT A GLANCE
Los Angeles Clippers (17-10) vs. Spurs (14-14)
When, where: Thursday, 7:30 p.m., AT&T Center
Last season: Spurs won series 2-1
All-time series record: Spurs lead 126-41
Season series: Clippers lead 1-0
Last meeting: Clippers 116, Spurs 111, Nov. 15, Los Angeles
Clippers' last game: Lost to Raptors 123-99, Tuesday, Los Angeles
Spurs' last game: Beat Suns 111-86, Tuesday, AT&T Center
Clippers' last 10 games/streak: 6-4, lost one
Spurs' last 10 games/streak: 5-5, won three
Clippers' injury/inactive report: Center Angel Delgado (G League assignment), out; forward Luc Mbah a Moute (sore left knee), out; forward Johnathan Motley (G League assignment); guard Jerome Robinson (strained right foot), out; guard Lou Williams (sore left hamstring), out.
Spurs' injury/inactive report: Forward Drew Eubanks (G League assignment), out; center Pau Gasol (left foot soreness), out; forward Ben Moore (G League assignment), out; guard Dejounte Murray (torn right anterior cruciate ligament), out; guard Lonnie Walker IV (G League assignment), out.
Notable: A Spurs victory Thursday night against the Clippers would match the team's longest win streak of the season. The Silver and Black won four straight in an eight-day span (Oct. 27-Nov. 3). They are 8-12 since then . . . Only two guards in NBA history – Kobe Bryant (2006) and the Spurs' Bryn Forbes – have ever finished a game with 20+ points and 10+ rebounds while going 5 for 5 or better from the three-point line. Forbes scored a season-high 24 points and had a career-high 11 rebounds in Tuesday night's 111-86 win over the Phoenix Suns. Forbes was 5 of 5 from beyond the arc. Spurs All-NBA forward LaMarcus Aldridge reached the 500-point mark for the season in the victory against the Suns. The only other NBA player in the NBA to score 500+ points in every season since 2006: LeBron James . . . After playing the Clippers on Thursday night, the Silver and Black continue their six-game home stand Saturday against the Chicago Bulls. The game will be broadcast by KENS 5, the official TV station of the San Antonio Spurs. The pregame show starts at 7 p.m. . . . The Silver and Black end the home stand against the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night. The Spurs are the only NBA team with an all-time winning record against every team in the league.
GAME PREVIEW
SAN ANTONIO – Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has described his team as “defensively challenged” on more than one occasion this season.
Popovich has had good reason to be down on the Silver and Black’s inability to play solid defense consistently. Before ripping off three consecutive victories since last Friday, the Spurs gave up 128, 136 and 139 points in lopsided losses over a one-week span.
The Silver and Black’s much-maligned defense still needs work, but an improvement on that side of the court is being cited as the key to the team’s surge the past week.
“I think it’s us communicating better,” backup center Jakob Poeltl said after Tuesday night’s 111-86 home win over the Phoenix Suns. “There (are) a couple of small changes that we made, but it’s mainly communicating better. We’re playing with more energy. We’re playing better together on defense and that really helps.”
The Spurs (14-14) will be tested when they start the second half of their six-game home stand Thursday night against the Los Angeles Clippers (17-10). While the Clippers are coming off a 123-99 loss at home to Toronto on Tuesday, they are tied with the Los Angeles Lakers for fourth place in the Western Conference standings. They trail first-place Denver by only one game.
“We’ve got a big game coming up Thursday,” Popovich said after Tuesday night’s game.
A win over the Clippers would give the Silver and Black a winning record for the first time since Nov. 18, when they went to 8-7 with a win over defending champion Golden State at the AT&T Center.
“It’s just a great feeling of team camaraderie, bonding and jelling within the group right now,” backup guard Patty Mills said after the win over Phoenix. “We’ve just go to keep doing it.”
San Antonio had lost four of its previous five games before stringing together three wins against the Lakers (133-120), Utah Jazz (110-97) and the Suns. The victory against the Jazz avenged a 139-105 loss just five days earlier in Salt Lake City. The Silver and Black also turned the tables on the Lakers and the Suns after losing to them on the road.
“I think, obviously, keeping a team in the 80s is always good,” Mills said. “But I think we’ve been a little more consistent over the three games, so if we can continue that, it’s definitely where we want to be.
“But I think the biggest thing is that we’ve proven that we can do it (play good defense), no matter what team it is. So, we’ve just got to believe in that and understand that we’ve got to do that for most of the 48 minutes or more than the other team, for sure.”
With the victory, Popovich moved into sole possession of fourth place on the NBA’s all-time list for coaching wins with 1,211. Popovich, who was tied with Pat Riley, trails No. 3 Jerry Sloan (1,221) by 10 victories. Don Nelson (1,335) and Lenny Wilkens (1,332) are No. 1 and No. 2.
True to form, Popovich had no comment on the coaching milestone.
“He’s a great coach and he’s going to continue to be great,” forward Rudy Gay said. “The numbers are going to get higher and higher from the foundation he laid so long ago. To this day, he has that respect and has a team like us, continuing to get better.”
After playing the Clippers, the Silver and Black face the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night and end the six-game homestand Monday against the Philadelphia 76ers. The game with the Bulls will be broadcast by KENS 5, the official TV station of the San Antonio Spurs. The pregame show starts at 7 p.m.