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Clippers bounce back, even series with Spurs

Apr 26, 2015 - 11:03 PM San Antonio, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Chris Paul and the Clippers rebounded to even their first-round playoff series with the Spurs.

They did it on the heels of the worst postseason game in franchise history.

Paul had 34 points and seven assists and No. 3-seeded Los Angeles held on for a 114-105 win over San Antonio in Game 4 on Sunday.

The Clippers shot better than 53 percent from the floor two days after scoring 73 points and shooting just 34.1 percent in Game 3, both franchise lows in the playoffs.

They snapped a two-game losing streak in the series and will head home to host Game 5 on Tuesday night in Los Angeles.

"There is no momentum in this series, as we've learned," said Clippers coach Doc Rivers. "It's just two good teams fighting."

Paul, who had seven points in Friday's 100-73 loss, was 11-of-19 from the field and scored 22 of his 34 points in the second half of this one as the Clippers stayed ahead of the reigning NBA champions.

Blake Griffin chipped in 20 points, 19 rebounds and seven assists, J.J. Redick added 17 points and Austin Rivers and Jamal Crawford combined to score 31 off the bench in the win.

NBA Defensive Player of the Year Kawhi Leonard led the Spurs on offense again, scoring 26 points after setting a postseason career-high with 32 on Friday.

Tim Duncan warmed up after a slow start to get 22 points and 14 rebounds, but the Spurs never led over the last 14-plus minutes.

"I think in general we lacked a lot of discipline," said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. "The only way to stay in those games is to play defense and not make mistakes and we made too many."

Duncan did not score in a tight first quarter featuring six lead changes and four ties and he contributed just two points in the second as the Clippers led by as much as six on Paul's late 3-pointer.

He bounced back with 10 points in the third quarter and the Spurs took their first lead since four minutes into the second on some free throws with around 4 1/2 minutes left.

But the Clippers, led by Paul, scored 12 of the final 18 points in the quarter to carry an 81-76 cushion into the fourth, taking the lead for good.

Griffin opened the final period with a bank shot on the way to Los Angeles building a 13-point lead. The Spurs were never closer than five points after that.

Game Notes

Duncan became the first player in NBA history to play 9,000 minutes in the postseason ... The Spurs shot 44 percent, including just 6-of-25 on 3-pointers ... The Clippers were not much better from 3, going 5-of-18.