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Clippers lose to Wemby-less Spurs, drop into 9th place

April 3, 2026

INGLEWOOD — Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said his team needed to approach Thursday night’s game against the San Antonio Spurs like any other, including their previous two matchups against the hottest team in the Western Conference.

“Our mindset is we can’t be different,” Lue said before the game. “We got to play the same way no matter who’s on the floor.”

And who was not.

The Clippers caught a break in their quest for a better postseason spot when Spurs MVP candidate Victor Wembanyama was ruled out because of ankle management. Or so it seemed.

While there wasn’t a 7-foot-4 obstacle blocking the lane, the Clippers still couldn’t get out of their own way and lost to the Spurs for the third time in less than a month, 118-99, at the Intuit Dome.

“They’re a good team, but Wemby’s not playing, so definitely can’t overlook that,” Lue said. “It’s got to be our mindset coming out, having a defensive mindset.”

The Clippers might not have taken Wembanyama’s absence for granted, but they didn’t take advantage of it either and now face the prospect of heading into the Play-In Tournament as the No. 9 seed.

With their second straight loss, the Clippers (39-38) dropped a half-game behind the Portland Trail Blazers (40-38) in the race for eighth place and a chance to avoid the 9-vs.-10 single-elimination game. The Blazers beat the New Orleans Pelicans, 118-106, on Thursday.

San Antonio (59-18) is chasing the Oklahoma City Thunder (61-16) for the top seed in the Western Conference, sitting two games behind at No. 2. The Spurs have won 27 of their past 29 games.

Like the previous two contests against the Spurs, the Clippers kept it from being a complete blowout until it was.

The Clippers fell behind in the first quarter as they struggled to find the basket and trailed 68-44 at halftime. The Spurs led by as much as 26 early in the third quarter and they appeared headed to an easy victory.

But the Clippers discovered a defensive intensity that had been missing in the first half and slowed the Spurs, while finding their offensive game in the third period. The Clippers began hitting 3-pointers, Bennedict Mathurin got to the free-throw line, Kawhi Leonard found his rhythm and suddenly they were back in the game, using a 14-4 run to whittle their deficit to 87-78 heading into the fourth quarter.

Jordan Miller opened the fourth with a turnaround jump shot to cut the lead to seven points, but the Spurs regained control, eventually pulling away to a 19-point win.

The Clippers could have cut the margin to five, but they missed a fast-break opportunity and the Spurs responded with a 23-5 run to end the threat.

Leonard finished with a team-high 24 points – his 53rd consecutive game of at least 20 points – to go with six rebounds and five assists.

Mathurin had 18 points and shot 8 for 8 from the free-throw line, while John Collins posted 15 points and six rebounds. Point guard Darius Garland had another quiet night with 11 points on 5-of-17 shooting (1 for 8 from 3-point range).

The Clippers struggled as a group from the perimeter, shooting just 5 for 26 (19.2%) from behind the arc on a night when they shot 43% from the field.

The Spurs – who shot 12 for 31 from 3-point range – capitalized on the Clippers’ poor shooting to extend a 33-25 first-quarter lead to 52-31.

Garland finally made his first 3-pointer to stop the Spurs’ run but, like his teammates, couldn’t sustain any momentum at either end of the court. The Spurs – who made 20 of their first 28 shots – shot 63.6% from the field in the first half and made half of their 3-point attempts, while the Clippers shot just 38.8% overall and 2 for 14 from deep.

De’Aaron Fox had 22 points, eight rebounds and five assists to pace the Spurs. Stephon Castle chipped in 20 points and Dylan Harper added 19 off the bench.

More to come on this story.

Orange County Register

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Clippers lose to Wemby-less Spurs, drop into 9th place

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