The Los Angeles Clippers are known for making things difficult for themselves.
So, it’s no surprise that their first attempt to win at their new home, the Intuit Dome, would also come with challenges.
After five tries, the Clippers finally secured their first victory at the Intuit Dome on Monday night, coming back from a 26-point deficit to defeat the San Antonio Spurs 113-104.
“That’s the Clippers way. 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 contributed 17 points and 13 rebounds.
Before the game, owner Steve Ballmer joked with the players, saying he thought his new $2 billion building might be cursed and that he might have to tear it down and rebuild it. While the joke helped lighten the mood, the team knew the pressure was building to finally get a win in their new arena.
“I’m just happy to get that off our chest. Now we can go out there and play free. I think we did it in the second half,” said James Harden, who also scored 17 points.
The Spurs led 40-14 at the end of the first quarter, but the Clippers fought back in the second half. This marked the largest comeback in franchise history after trailing by the most points at the end of the first quarter, beating the previous record of a 23-point deficit against Boston on Feb. 9, 2019.
Comebacks have become a familiar theme under coach Tyronn Lue during his five years with the Clippers.
For example, on Jan. 25, 2022, they were down by 35 points in the first half against Washington before winning 116-115. Last season, they were also down by 26 points to Cleveland in the third quarter before rallying for a 120-118 victory.
Monday’s comeback tied the Clippers’ third-largest recovery from a deficit since 1996, according to Sportradar.
“We’ve been playing good and hard at home, but just coming up short for four games. We just stuck with it,” said coach Tyronn Lue.
The Clippers managed to cut the Spurs’ lead down to eight points by halftime and were only four points behind when the fourth quarter began.
In a key stretch, LA went on a 33-9 run over nine minutes, starting late in the third quarter and continuing until the four-minute mark of the fourth quarter, to take control of the game.
This marked the largest blown lead by San Antonio at the end of the first quarter and the fourth-largest blown lead by any team in Clippers’ franchise history.
“That’s a very well-coached team with a lot of veterans that have played in a lot of high-level games. There’s a lot of runs in games.
I think we can learn about the attention to detail and the consistency of simple basketball,” said Spurs interim coach Mitch Johnson, who is filling in for Gregg Popovich, who is sidelined indefinitely due to illness.
The Clippers’ next home game will also draw extra attention. They will face Philadelphia on Wednesday night after Paul George made his season debut for the 76ers in a loss to Phoenix on Monday.
George played five seasons with the Clippers before signing with Philadelphia during the offseason. “He was a great teammate, great friend. It’s going to be fun playing against him,” said Zubac.
