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Clippers finally beat Spurs in San Antonio

Mar 10, 2012 - 8:06 AM San Antonio, TX (Sports Network) - Mo Williams connected on 7-of-9 three-point attempts en route to a season-high 33 points as the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Spurs on the road for the first time in a decade with a 120-108 triumph at AT&T Center.

"It happens in the NBA," remarked Williams about his stellar performance. "You're going to have your nights. You just have to take these just like you take the bad ones, forget about it and move on to the next game."

Chris Paul also recorded a season-high 36 points with 11 assists for the Clippers, who had not won in San Antonio since January 31, 2002, snapping a 17-game losing streak.

Blake Griffin added 15 points and nine rebounds as Los Angeles ended a six- game road trip with a 3-3 record.

Manu Ginobili paced the Spurs with 22 points and six assists. Gary Neal got the start in place of Tony Parker, who missed the game with a right quad contusion, and finished with 18 points and five assists.

Tim Duncan contributed 17 points as San Antonio fell to 15-4 as the host this season.

After a short Griffin jumper gave Los Angeles a 70-61 lead early in the third quarter, San Antonio stormed back with a 14-4 run to go ahead, 75-74, on Danny Green's three-pointer with a little under five minutes to play in the frame.

The lead exchanged hands three times over the next minute and a half as the teams traded buckets until Paul's technical free throw and long two-pointer started a 15-7 spurt by Los Angeles to retake a nine-point lead, 94-85.

But the Spurs closed out the third with five straight points to get within four, 94-90, entering the fourth quarter.

The run continued in the final stanza as Green started the scoring with a runner that was followed by a Matt Bonner jumper to knot the game at 94.

Williams quickly put the Clippers back on top with a basket, but San Antonio scored the game's next three points to take a 97-96 lead.

Randy Foye, though, was fouled on the Clippers' ensuing touch and sank both free throws to put Los Angeles on top.

The Spurs managed to tie the game one more time when Ginobili's trey made it a 103-103 game with 5:20 to play, but the Clippers answered with back-to-back three-pointers by Williams, sparking a 15-2 run that put LA on top, 118-105, within the final minute and they cruised to the finish.

"It was a great effort. I thought our guys did a great job," Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said. "You really put yourself in a hole and the guys still were there the whole time, and then Mo (Williams) hit those two threes in a row. That was the difference right there."

The Spurs opened the game with a 7-3 run to take the early advantage, but Los Angeles responded with a 7-2 spurt to go ahead, 10-9.

The remainder of the first quarter saw seven ties, nine lead changes and neither team take a lead larger than four points as San Antonio carried a 34-33 advantage into the second quarter after Ginobili's driving layup in the closing seconds.

A 5-2 swing by the Spurs to start the second stretched their lead to 39-35 before back-to-back treys by Williams and Paul sparked a 20-3 run by the Clippers to jump out to a double-digit lead, 55-42.

Paul and Williams had 10 points apiece in the run, while San Antonio did not make a shot from the floor until Ginobili's three-pointer snapped the drought.

The Spurs never got closer than eight from there as they trailed, 64-56, at the break.

Game Notes

Spurs guard T.J. Ford sat out the game after taking a hard fall on Wednesday. San Antonio recalled guard Cory Joseph from Austin of the NBA D-League to fill the roster spot...The Clippers improved to 11-10 on the road this season...San Antonio fell to 2-3 on a seven-game homestand...Los Angeles held a 41-35 advantage on the glass but was outscored, 44-26, in the paint.