<\/p>\n
San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson celebrates after scoring during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Clippers, Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo\/Mark J. Terrill)<\/p>\n
Mark J. Terrill\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
LOS ANGELES \u2014 After looking at the injury report for Thursday\u2019s game against the Spurs, Los Angeles Clippers coach\u00a0Ty Lue felt the need to remind his team of one well-worn fact.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re a good team even when Wemby is not playing,\u201d Lue said.<\/p>\n
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With superstar center Victor Wembanyama was out nursing a sore right ankle on the second night of a back-to-back, the Spurs went and proved Lue correct, running away with a 118-99 victory at the Intuit Dome.<\/p>\n
The victory was the Spurs\u2019 11th in a row, matching their longest winning streak of the season.<\/p>\n
They did it in blowout fashion against a Clippers team vying to become their first-round playoff opponent.<\/p>\n
De\u2019Aaron Fox had 22 points and Stephon Castle chipped in 20 for the Spurs, who led by as many as 26 after the first possession of the second half.<\/p>\n
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The Spurs improved to 21-0 this season when staked to a 25-point lead.<\/p>\n
Kawhi Leonard scored 24 points to lead the Clippers, while Benedict Mathurin added 18 off the bench.<\/p>\n
With the victory, the Spurs bumped their season record to 59-18, one win away from the sixth 60-win season in franchise history.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Los Angeles Clippers guard Kris Dunn, left, and San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson go after a rebound during the second half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo\/Mark J. Terrill)<\/p>\n
Mark J. Terrill\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle dunks during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Clippers, Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo\/Mark J. Terrill)<\/p>\n
Mark J. Terrill\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
Los Angeles Clippers guard Jordan Miller, left, shoots as San Antonio Spurs forward Julian Champagnie defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo\/Mark J. Terrill)<\/p>\n
Mark J. Terrill\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
Los Angeles Clippers guard Bennedict Mathurin, left, shoots as San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell defends during the second half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo\/Mark J. Terrill)<\/p>\n
Mark J. Terrill\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
Los Angeles Clippers forward Derrick Jones Jr. dunks during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the San Antonio Spurs, Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo\/Mark J. Terrill)<\/p>\n
Mark J. Terrill\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson celebrates after scoring during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Clippers, Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo\/Mark J. Terrill)<\/p>\n
Mark J. Terrill\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle dunks during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Clippers, Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo\/Mark J. Terrill)<\/p>\n
Mark J. Terrill\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle, left, shoots as Los Angeles Clippers guard Bennedict Mathurin defends during the second half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo\/Mark J. Terrill)<\/p>\n
Mark J. Terrill\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle, below, shoots as Los Angeles Clippers forward John Collins defends during the second half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo\/Mark J. Terrill)<\/p>\n
Mark J. Terrill\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle, below, shoots as Los Angeles Clippers forward John Collins defends during the second half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo\/Mark J. Terrill)<\/p>\n
Mark J. Terrill\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
Los Angeles Clippers guard Kobe Sanders, right, shoots as San Antonio Spurs center Bismack Biyombo defends during the second half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo\/Mark J. Terrill)<\/p>\n
Mark J. Terrill\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson, left, celebrates after scoring as Los Angeles Clippers guard Bennedict Mathurin looks on during the second half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo\/Mark J. Terrill)<\/p>\n
Mark J. Terrill\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
Los Angeles Clippers guard Darius Garland, right, shoots as San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson defends during the second half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo\/Mark J. Terrill)<\/p>\n
Mark J. Terrill\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
Los Angeles Clippers guard Jordan Miller, top, takes a loose ball away from San Antonio Spurs guard De’aaron Fox during the second half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo\/Mark J. Terrill)<\/p>\n
Mark J. Terrill\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
Los Angeles Clippers guard Bennedict Mathurin, top, and San Antonio Spurs guard De’aaron Fox scramble for a loose ball during the second half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo\/Mark J. Terrill)<\/p>\n
Mark J. Terrill\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
Los Angeles Clippers guard Bennedict Mathurin celebrates after scoring during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the San Antonio Spurs, Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo\/Mark J. Terrill)<\/p>\n
Mark J. Terrill\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson, left, and Los Angeles Clippers guard Bennedict Mathurin go after a loose ball during the second half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo\/Mark J. Terrill)<\/p>\n
Mark J. Terrill\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
San Antonio Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson gestures during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Clippers, Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo\/Mark J. Terrill)<\/p>\n
Mark J. Terrill\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper, top, drives by Los Angeles Clippers forward John Collins during the second half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo\/Mark J. Terrill)<\/p>\n
Mark J. Terrill\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
Los Angeles Clippers center Brook Lopez, left, reaches in on San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson during the second half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo\/Mark J. Terrill)<\/p>\n
Mark J. Terrill\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
Los Angeles Clippers guard Darius Garland, right, shoots as San Antonio Spurs forward Julian Champagnie, left, and guard Stephon Castle defend during the second half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo\/Mark J. Terrill)<\/p>\n
Mark J. Terrill\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
Los Angeles Clippers guard Jordan Miller, right, shoots as San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo\/Mark J. Terrill)<\/p>\n
Mark J. Terrill\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
Los Angeles Clippers guard Darius Garland, left, shoots as San Antonio Spurs center Luke Kornet defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo\/Mark J. Terrill)<\/p>\n
Mark J. Terrill\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
San Antonio Spurs guard De’aaron Fox, left, and guard Dylan Harper, right, go after a loose ball along with Los Angeles Clippers guard Kris Dunn during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo\/Mark J. Terrill)<\/p>\n
Mark J. Terrill\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
Los Angeles Clippers guard Kris Dunn, right, knocks the ball from the hands of San Antonio Spurs guard De’aaron Fox during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo\/Mark J. Terrill)<\/p>\n
Mark J. Terrill\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle, left, drives past Los Angeles Clippers guard Bennedict Mathurin during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo\/Mark J. Terrill)<\/p>\n
Mark J. Terrill\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
Los Angeles Clippers guard Darius Garland, left, shoots as San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo\/Mark J. Terrill)<\/p>\n
Mark J. Terrill\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson, left, shoots as Los Angeles Clippers forward John Collins defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo\/Mark J. Terrill)<\/p>\n
Mark J. Terrill\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
Here are three takeaways from Thursday\u2019s triumph, as the Spurs\u2019 road trip moves on to Denver on Saturday:<\/p>\n
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1. Fox got the Spurs started<\/p>\n
Fox\u2019s first full season in San Antonio has been one of sacrifice. His scoring average is down 6.5 points from what he was averaging in Sacramento at the time of his trade to the Spurs.<\/p>\n
That is mostly a testament to Fox\u2019s willingness to share the ball with a pair of up-and-coming young guards in Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper.<\/p>\n
With the Spurs\u2019 leading scorer out Thursday, the Spurs needed Fox to get them going early.<\/p>\n
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The All-Star guard notched 18 of his points in the first half, helping stake the Spurs to a 68-44 lead at the break.<\/p>\n
At that juncture, Fox was also the Spurs\u2019 leader in rebounds (seven) and assists (five).\u00a0Fox had a quieter second half, as Harper and Castle scored 10 apiece after the break.<\/p>\n
The Spurs wouldn\u2019t have been in position to run away with the game had Fox not gotten them started.<\/p>\n
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2. Wemby still in good shape for awards<\/p>\n
Thursday wasn\u2019t necessarily a scheduled day off for Wembanyama, but close to it.<\/p>\n
The All-Star center has been deal with minor pain in his right ankle for a while. After his 41-point, 18-rebound effort in Wednesday\u2019s win at Golden State, the second night of a back-to-back seemed as good a time as any to grab Wembanyama some rest.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat ankle is still angry at him,\u201d coach Mitch Johnson said. \u201cThe back-to-back makes it more of a discussion in terms of recovery and lack of time from the previous game.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Even after Thursday\u2019s absence, Wembanyama remains in good shape to reach the 65-game threshold to remain eligible for postseason awards like MVP, All-NBA, Defensive Player of the Year and All-Defense.<\/p>\n
He must play in three of the Spurs\u2019 final five regular-season games to make that mark.<\/p>\n
Johnson said Wembanyama\u2019s sore ankle, though minor, is something the Spurs will have to manage between now and the start of the playoffs.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t have any more back-to-backs, so that helps him with more recovery time,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cIt\u2019s something we\u2019ll definitely be mindful of so we can get everybody as healthy as they can be down the stretch.\u201d<\/p>\n
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3. Spurs make a playoff statement<\/p>\n
The Spurs swept the season series against the Clippers 3-0, with all the games featuring huge leads and wild swings.\u00a0The Spurs won the first matchup on March 6, overcoming a 25-point deficit to beat the Clippers by four in San Antonio.<\/p>\n
Ten days after that, they nearly blew a 24-point lead before holding on for another four-point win in L.A.\u00a0If this is a potential first-round playoff meeting \u2013 and it might be \u2013 Thursday might have represented the grandest statement of all.<\/p>\n
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On the second night of a back-to-back, without Wembanyama, the Spurs went on the road and won by 19 points.<\/p>\n
It is something neither team is likely to forget if they meet again later this month.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson celebrates after scoring during the second half of an NBA basketball game…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":582342,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,85],"class_list":["post-582341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-basketball","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/582341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=582341"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/582341\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/582342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=582341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=582341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=582341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}