Clippers Blow 25-Point Lead in Stunning Collapse Against Spurs

SAN ANTONIO -- There are bad losses, and then there is what happened to the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night at Frost Bank Center.

The Clippers held a 25-point lead in the second half and completely fell apart down the stretch, as Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs stormed back for a 117-112 victory that will sting for a long time.

Kawhi Leonard poured in a game-high 30 points on 10-for-20 shooting to go along with nine rebounds and three steals, but it was not enough to prevent one of the worst collapses of the season for Los Angeles.

Brook Lopez added 26 points on an efficient 11-for-19 from the field and knocked down four threes, while also contributing six rebounds and four steals in one of his best outings of the year.

Clippers Cruise Early, Then Hit a Wall

The Clippers looked like a completely different team in the first half, shooting the ball well and building a comfortable 66-46 lead at the break.

It was the biggest halftime deficit of the season for San Antonio, a team that had led at halftime in 42 of their 63 games coming into Friday.

Lopez set the tone early with nine first-quarter points on a mix of floaters, fadeaways, and step-back jumpers, and Los Angeles pushed the lead to as many as 25 points when they went up 75-50 in the third quarter.

Everything was working, and it felt like the Clippers were in total control of the game.

San Antonio Flips the Script

Then the fourth quarter happened.

The Spurs opened the final period with an 18-5 run that completely erased the massive deficit and gave them their first lead since the opening minutes of the game.

Wembanyama was the engine behind the comeback, finishing with 27 points, 10 rebounds, and four blocks while playing with the kind of force that has made him one of the most dominant young players in the league.

He swatted a Kris Dunn reverse layup that created a fast break, which ended with an alley-oop dunk by Carter Bryant, and Devin Vassell followed with a three-pointer to give the Spurs a 99-97 lead.

Julian Champagnie was outstanding off the bench with 20 points and nine rebounds, shooting 5-for-8 from three-point range, and De'Aaron Fox chipped in 19 points and nine assists to fuel the attack.

An Unbelievable Finish

The final minute was a rollercoaster.

Leonard sank two free throws to give the Clippers a 109-108 lead with 1:17 remaining, but Wembanyama answered with a clutch three-pointer to put San Antonio back on top 111-109 with 54.7 seconds left.

After Leonard missed a three-pointer in the closing seconds, Wembanyama broke free for an uncontested dunk that pushed the lead to 113-112 with 16 seconds left.

The Clippers had one more chance, but Nicolas Batum turned the ball over on the inbound play when his foot crossed the boundary line, and that was essentially the ball game.

Stephon Castle put the finishing touches on the win by rebounding his own missed free throw and converting a layup with just one second remaining on the clock.

The loss drops the Clippers to 30-32 on the season and snaps a three-game winning streak as they continue to fight for play-in positioning in the Western Conference.

San Antonio improves to 46-17 and has now won 14 of their last 15 games, sitting in second place in the West behind only the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Clippers will look to bounce back quickly when they visit the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night.