Norman Powell scored 23 points and Amir Coffey added 21 to help lead a second-half comeback as the Los Angeles Clippers won 113-104 against the San Antonio Spurs on Monday, earning their first victory at the new Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.
Ivica Zubac had 17 points and 13 rebounds, while James Harden also scored 17 points after a slow start. This was the Clippers’ first win in five attempts at the $2 billion arena.
The Clippers were down by 26 points at the end of the first quarter, but they fought back with a strong 3-point shooting performance in the fourth quarter, making 6 of 9 from beyond the arc.
Coffey was especially impressive, scoring 19 points in the second half and going a perfect 5-for-5 from three-point range.
Victor Wembanyama had 24 points, 13 rebounds, and nine blocked shots for the Spurs in a losing effort. He tied his second-highest career block total.
Julian Champagnie added 21 points, and Chris Paul chipped in 14 points and 10 assists against his former team.
The Clippers closed the gap to 86-82 at the end of the third quarter with a 3-pointer from Coffey. They then took the lead at 93-91 after Powell hit a 3-pointer with 7:25 left in the game.
Back-to-back 3-pointers from Amir Coffey and Kris Dunn gave the Clippers a 99-93 lead with 5:48 left in the game. A quick 5-0 run by James Harden then put Los Angeles ahead 107-95 with 3:57 remaining. Coffey finished off the win with a dunk in the final 22 seconds to make it 112-102.
The Spurs jumped out to a big lead early, going up 32-12 with 2:09 left in the first quarter. They extended the lead to 40-14 by the end of the first period.
The Clippers began to cut into the deficit, getting it down to single digits with 4:52 left in the first half. They trailed 56-48 at halftime.
Powell didn’t score his first field goal until 4:02 remained in the second quarter, while Harden’s first shot came in the form of a 3-pointer with 4.0 seconds left before halftime.
