INGLEWOOD, California — The LA Clippers have a history of making things difficult for themselves.
So why should trying to win for the first time in your new home be any different?
It took five tries, but the Clippers finally broke through Monday night at the Intuit Dome, overcoming a 26-point deficit in a 113-104 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.
“That’s the Clippers’ style. We can’t do it the easy way, we always have to fight back and be dramatic, but a win is a win,” said center Ivica Zubac, who had 17 points and 13 rebounds.
Owner Steve Ballmer joked with the players before the game that he thought his new $2 billion building was cursed and that he might have to tear it down and start over. While that helped lighten the mood, the Clippers knew the pressure was mounting to break through.
“I’m happy we got it off our chest. Now we can go out and play freely. I think we did that in the second half,” said James Harden, who scored 17 points.
The Spurs led 40-14 at the end of the first quarter before the Clippers fought back. It was Los Angeles’ biggest comeback when trailing late in the first quarter, overcoming the 23-point deficit it had after 12 minutes in Boston on Feb. 9, 2019.
However, stunning comebacks have become a trademark during Tyronn Lue’s five seasons as Clippers coach.
They trailed by 35 in the first half in Washington on Jan. 25, 2022, before winning 116-115. Last season they also trailed Cleveland by 26 points in the third quarter before rallying for a 120-118 victory.
Monday’s comeback tied the Clippers’ third-most while trailing by any deficit since 1996, according to Sportradar.
“We’ve been playing good and hard at home, but we came up short for four games. We just stuck with it,” Lue said.
The Clippers cut the lead to eight at halftime and were within four heading into the fourth quarter.
LA went on a 33-9 run over a nine-minute span from late in the third quarter to four minutes into the fourth to take control.
It was the largest blown lead by San Antonio at the end of the first quarter and the fourth largest by any deficit in Spurs history.
“It is a very well-coached team with many veterans who have played in many high-level games. There are many runs in the games. I think we can learn about the attention to detail and consistency of simple basketball.” said the interim coach of the Spurs’ Mitch Johnson, who took over head coaching duties with Gregg Popovich sidelined indefinitely due to illness.
The Clippers’ upcoming home game will also attract more attention. They host Philadelphia on Wednesday night after Paul George made his season debut Monday night for the 76ers in a loss at Phoenix.
George played five seasons with the Clippers before signing with Philadelphia during the offseason.
“He was a great teammate, a great friend. It will be fun to play against him,” Zubac said.
