LA Clippers get routed vs the Spurs & Thunder
The Clippers can’t Hang with the Spurs. Written by Tom Nolan
On Wednesday, April 2, the Clippers hosted the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs won
their eleventh in a row, beating the Clippers 119- 99. The Spurs led the whole game.
Both teams are very talented, with multiple great players. Victor Wembanyama was
sidelined due to an injury suffered against the Warriors the night before. But the Spurs
didn’t need him—they dominated the Clippers. The Spurs led the whole game, and
were ahead by twenty at half. The Clippers made a run in the third and fourth quarter,
getting as close as seven, but they couldn’t stop the Spurs from scoring.
In the first half, the Spurs were hitting everything, and the combination of Castle, Fox,
and Harper were unstoppable. Meanwhile, the Clippers shot horribly, and played
mediocre defense against a great team. Besides Kawai Leonard, the Clippers were not
showing up offensively, and certainly not defensively. In the second half, Mathurin,
Miller, and Collins helped out offensively, but the game was never close.
At its core, this was a game about heart and mission. The Spurs are on a mission to
prove how great they are. They have a great team vibe and play with relentless
connection and intensity. In contrast, the Clippers look disjointed, and they never got
into a strong rhythm. The Clippers don’t look like the team of February, when they came
back from such a terrible start, and played with passion and commitment. Now they
look like a bunch of talented players who somehow don’t know how to put it together.
The West is very strong, and it will be interesting to see how far the Spurs can go. But
the Clippers need to find their mojo again, or they will be sitting out the post-season.
The following week on April 8th, The Oklahoma City Thunder delivered a dominant performance defeating the Los Angeles Clippers 128–110 at Intuit Dome in a game that was largely decided early. OKC set the tone immediately, dropping 34 points in the first quarter and 35 in the second to build a commanding 69–49 halftime lead, and from there, they controlled the pace the rest of the night. The win also marked another milestone moment for the Thunder, as they continued their push as the league’s top team and extended their winning streak.
The night was headlined by Chet Holmgren, who dominated with 30 points on 10-of-13 shooting, along with 14 rebounds and 5 assists, showcasing his efficiency and versatility on both ends. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 20 points and 11 assists, continuing his historic scoring consistency—he has now recorded 20+ points in an NBA-record streak of over 130 consecutive games, a run that has redefined offensive reliability in the modern era. Meanwhile, Jalen Williams contributed 18 points, giving OKC a balanced offensive attack that the Clippers struggled to contain.
For the Clippers, Kawhi Leonard finished with 20 points and 8 rebounds, and notably extended his own remarkable stretch to over 50 consecutive games with 20+ points, a franchise-record level of consistency that has quietly anchored Los Angeles all season. Despite his steady production, the Clippers couldn’t overcome their slow start, and contributions like John Collins’ 12 points and 9 rebounds weren’t enough to close the gap.
Ultimately, the difference came down to execution and flow—OKC’s ball movement, efficiency, and early aggression overwhelmed a Clippers team that spent most of the night trying to recover from a double-digit deficit. The Thunder looked every bit like a championship-caliber squad, while the Clippers showed flashes but lacked the sustained intensity needed to compete over four quarters. OKC game written by Marie Llug
For more on the team, visit the official Clippers site: https://www.nba.com/clippers