Blake Griffin scored 16 points and grabbed five rebounds in the first half, but the Los Angeles Clippers trail the San Antonio Spurs 58-54 after 24 minutes at the AT&T Center. The Clippers have lost 16 consecutive games in San Antonio, dating back to 2002.
The Spurs outscored the Clippers 26-19 in the first quarter, then upped their lead to 42-28 with 5:52 remaining in the second stanza. The Clippers responded with an 11-0 run in two minutes that featured a trio of three-pointers, including two by Chauncey Billups on back-to-back possessions.
Chris Paul scored six points and dished out six assists for the Clippers in the opening half, including assists on four three-pointers in the final five and a half minutes of the second quarter.
Manu Ginobili scored 16 points and DeJuan Blair scored 12 points to lead the Spurs, who are 1-0 on the season. San Antonio shot 51.2% (22 for 43) in the first half, compared to 47.6% (20 for 42) for the Clippers. Both the Spurs and Clippers grabbed 19 rebounds. The Clippers were led in that department by DeAndre Jordan, who had seven boards. Tim Duncan had six rebounds in the opening half to pace the Spurs.
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