Clippers find something in reserve, rally past Spurs for 1st Intuit Dome win

INGLEWOOD — It was a random suggestion, maybe even silly. Should either James Harden or Norman Powell, the Clippers’ best offensive threats, be on the court at all times?

While Clippers coach Tyronn Lue brushed off the question, he has been searching for ways to secure victories, especially down the stretch. On Monday, he might have stumbled upon a solution, and it didn’t involve his number one option.

A group of four bench players and center Ivica Zubac got the Clippers back into a game that had all but slipped away, trimming a double-digit deficit to five points early in the fourth quarter.

Then Powell re-entered the game and the veteran guard pushed the Clippers over the finish line for a 113-104 victory over the San Antonio Spurs at the Intuit Dome, their first regular-season victory in their glitzy new arena.

The victory, which came after they fell behind by 26 points in the first quarter, snapped a three-game losing streak for the Clippers (3-4).

Lue called it a huge win and was happy “to get his monkey off our back. Or the gorilla off our back.”

The relief was felt beyond the court. Harden said owner Steve Ballmer visited the locker room after the game and joked that he was going to have to “tear down (the Intuit Dome) and build a new one (if they didn’t start winning.) Tells you how much money he has.

“I was just happy to get that off our chest and now we can go out there and just play free. I think we did that in the second half. … It feels good, so we just got to keep going.”

The Clippers might want to relish this game for a while.

Powell scored nine points in the fourth quarter and finished with a team-high 23, his sixth straight game with 20 points or more.

Harden re-entered the game and scored five of his 17 points in the final 6:45. He also had eight rebounds and four assists. Zubac finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds.

But it was the energy provided by the bench players, namely Amir Coffey, who was instrumental in getting the Clippers their third victory of the season. Coffey scored 10 of his 21 points in the final quarter.

“You never know whose night it is going to be when you play the right way,” Lue said. “You compete and that’s what we did.”

Lue said he was especially happy for Coffey, saying the 6-foot-7 guard was a “big reason” why the Clippers won the game.

“Tonight was Amir’s night,” Lue said.

After struggling to close out games early in the season, Lue was willing to try various lineups to hold onto games. He said they need all the scoring they can get down the stretch.

Maybe at the start of games, too.

Their offensive woes popped up in the first quarter as the Spurs opened a 14-point lead en route to a 40-14 advantage at the end of the first period. And that was with both Harden and Powell in the game.

Both players got off to slow starts as the Spurs clamped down on them inside. Harden had four shots deflected early on by the 7-foot-3 Wembanyama, who possesses an eight-foot wingspan. Wembanyama finished with 24 points, 13 rebounds and nine blocked shots.

“Every night I want to be great, you know what I mean?” Harden said. “So I might fall a little short of that, but like the effort has to be there for me.

“I know these guys are bringing effort, so for me at Year 16, I want to show them that I can still bring effort and compete at the highest level.”

Harden was scoreless and didn’t get any assists in the first 12 minutes and had just five points at halftime. He finished with 12 points, four rebounds and two assists. Powell shook off his slow start, having scored five points in the opening half.

But Harden and Powell weren’t the only ones struggling. The Clippers made only two shots from the field in the first quarter, while the Spurs made five 3-pointers in the first quarter.

Frustrated with what he saw on the court, Lue replaced four starters with Coffey, Kevin Porter Jr., Nico Batum and Kris Dunn. Zubac stayed in the game. That lineup managed to slow the Spurs and pulled within 12 with 7:34 left in the half.

Lue put Harden and Powell back in and the two responded with key baskets to pull the Clippers to within 56-48.

Lue said before the game that he wanted to rely on the veteran duo, especially down the stretch.

“It all depends on the flow of the game,” Lue said. “We are trying to stay in the game and it’s hard to take one of those guys off the court. But just in the fourth quarter, trying to have James or Norm on the floor, along with Zu and Scoot (Porter).”

The Clippers went on a 33-9 run during a nine-minute span late in the third quarter until the four-minute mark of the fourth. Powell’s 3-pointer with 7:25 remaining gave the Clippers their first lead at 93-91. They went ahead for good (96-93) with 6:26 left on a Coffey 3-pointer.

Coffey finished 5 for 6 from behind the arc overall, part of the Clippers’ 19-for-37 showing from long range.

The Clippers outscored the Spurs 31-18 in the fourth quarter and grabbed a season-high 16 offensive rebounds for the night.

The Spurs were without Greg Popovich, their longtime coach, on the bench. Popovich suffered an undisclosed health issue Saturday and is not expected back soon. Mitch Johnson is the team’s interim head coach for an indefinite period.

Popovich, 75, did not travel with the team for games against the Clippers and Houston Rockets.

Popovich, in his 29th season, all with the Spurs, is the NBA’s career leader with 1,390 victories and another 170 postseason wins to go with his five NBA championships (all with the Spurs).

Johnson said Popovich was in “good spirits” when they spoke Sunday night.

“He’ll be OK. He is OK and we can’t wait to have him back,” Johnson said.

In the meantime, Johnson said it will be “regular scheduled programming” in Popovich’s absence.