Kawhi Drops 24, But the Clippers Fall to the Spurs 118-99
Los Angeles Clippers #2 Kawhi Leonard (F) scored 24 points against the San Antonio Spurs defense at the Intuit Dome. Photo by Jerry Kelly/TGSportstv1 April 2, 2026.
LOS ANGELES – The LA Clippers came up short Thursday night, falling to the No. 2 team in the Western Conference, the San Antonio Spurs, 118-99. Spurs All Star Victor Wembanyama was ruled out, but that didn’t make things any easier for the Clippers.
Without their 7-foot-4 star, San Antonio had multiple guys step up. Six players scored in double figures, led by De’ Aaron Fox with 22 points. Devin Vassell also had a strong night, finishing with a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Kawhi Leonard had a great game leading both teams in points with 24, shooting 62.5% from the field, and 80% from beyond the arc.
“We just have to play faster,” says Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue.
The Clippers came out active on the boards, but the Spurs answered with a quick 7-0 run. With just over four minutes left in the first, Leonard hit a tough three to give the Clippers a brief 19-18 lead.
The game stayed close until Harrison Barnes knocked down a corner three at the buzzer, putting the Spurs up 33-25 after one.
Things got rough for the Clippers in the second quarter. The Spurs stretched the lead to 20 after a three made it 49-29, and the gap held for most of the quarter.Just like the first, the half ended with a buzzer-beater, this time a deep three from Vassell, to make it 68-44 going into halftime.
The Clippers showed some life in the third with a small-ball lineup that helped shift the energy.Ben Mathurin scored 11 points in the quarter, helping cut the deficit to single digits at 87-78.
“Playing small got us back in the game a little bit,” says Lue. “We just have to find a way for that small ball unit to be better, and we’ll go from there.”
The Spurs slowed down a bit in the fourth, allowing the Clippers to get within seven twice. But a three from Vassell pushed the lead back to 10, and San Antonio pulled away from there to secure the 118-99 win.
The Clippers next game is Sunday, April 5, at 6PM against the Sacramento Kings in the Intuit Dome.