The Los Angeles Clippers host the San Antonio Spurs at the Intuit Dome on Thursday, April 1, at 10:30 p.m. ET.
The Clippers are 39-37 and eighth in the West with a 21-16 home record, while the Spurs are 58-18 and second in the West with a 28-11 road record.
The Clippers are coming off a 114-104 loss against the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday, while the Spurs are coming off a 127-113 win over the Golden State Warriors last night. The last meeting between these teams took place on March 16, 2026, with the Spurs winning 119-115, marking their second victory over them this season. San Antonio can sweep the season-series with another win on Thursday.
The Clippers are being pushed forward this season by Kawhi Leonard, who is having a career-best year in scoring, averaging 28.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 3.6 assists, while winter addition Darius Garland is averaging 21.2 points and 6.8 assists in 14 games since joining the franchise.
The Spurs are led by Victor Wembanyama, who’s averaging 24.7 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 3.1 blocks this season, making a late push for the MVP award. Unfortunately, he’s been ruled out for this game on the second leg of a back-to-back, meaning co-star De’Aaron Fox will likely lead the team, averaging 18.5 points and 6.2 assists in his first full season with the franchise.
The Spurs are still chasing after the No. 1 seed, currently two games behind the OKC Thunder. The Clippers are hoping to hold onto the No. 8 seed, and need this win to make sure they keep themselves out of the 9-10 Play-In Tournament matchup.
Injury Report
Spurs
Victor Wembanyama: Out (injury management)
David Jones-Garcia: Out (G League)
Emanuel Miller: Out (G League)
Clippers
Yanic Konan Niederhauser: Out (ankle)
Bradley Beal: Out (hip)
Isaiah Jackson: Out (ankle)
Why The Clippers Have The Advantage
It’s hard to pinpoint specific advantages that the Clippers can claim to have on their side for this game. The one thing they definitely can rely on to be the difference-maker here is their outside shooting. The Clippers rank seventh in the NBA when it comes to outside shooting (36.7 3P%), so the franchise will hope this accuracy continues. They’ll also need to bump up their volume of these attempts considerably, currently ranking 20th in the NBA with 33.6 three-point attempts per game.
The Clippers are one of the few teams that can push the Spurs into being more turnover-prone than usual. They average 9.1 steals per game and are 10th in the NBA in points scored off turnovers with 16.3 points per game. If their half-court defense can push the Spurs into making sloppy passes, they’ll need to capitalize on every extra opportunity to ensure they have a shot in this game.
They have kept previous games against the Spurs close through two key areas. The first was either restricting their offensive efficiency, or the second was maximizing trips to the free-throw line. The Clippers have attempted 44 total free throws in their previous two games against the Spurs. Both were four-point losses, with the Clippers forcing San Antonio into shooting 10-36 from three the last time they faced off at the Intuit Dome.
The biggest advantage for the Clippers is Wembanyama’s absence. The Spurs are 10-5 without Wembanyama this season. They have a 120.4 offensive rating (+1.1 higher) and 117.9 defensive rating (-6.9 lower) without the French center, so the Clippers will feel they have more than just an outside chance to steal this win.
Why The Spurs Have The Advantage
The Spurs have the second-best record in the NBA and have a 30-5 record over their last 35 games, currently on a 10-game win streak. No team in the last month has been able to figure out how to stop the Spurs, as Wembanyama is leading them to an unlikely bid as genuine NBA title contenders. But winning an 11th straight without Wembanyama against a motivated opponent like the Clippers will not be easy.
Every avenue of the court might be an advantage for the Spurs, as reflected by their season stats. It’s important to remember that the Spurs have been without Wembanyama multiple times this season, which means that the team is inherently solid. They’re the third-highest scoring team this season (119.5), grab the second-most rebounds per game (48.0), and commit the third-fewest turnovers (13.5) in the NBA. They’re looking genuinely unstoppable.
There isn’t any area on the court that the Clippers can claim to have an unquestionable advantage over the Spurs. The Spurs have beaten the Clippers twice already in the last month, so this is a fresh matchup between two teams with the same winning incentive still driving them forward. The lack of Wembanyama greatly alters the matchup, but the Spurs bench is the fifth-best in the NBA, having a +2.2 net rating, proving that quality runs deep on this squad.
The Spurs are holding opponents to 45.0 FG% this season, the fourth-best in the NBA. This worsens slightly to No. 7 in the NBA when it comes to three-point percentage, with opponents’ shooting 35.2% from outside against them. This is one of the areas where the Clippers look to swing this game, so if the Spurs can shut their shooting down, Wembanyama’s absence shouldn’t stop them from winning.
X-Factors
Brook Lopez might be the biggest x-factor for the Clippers tonight, as Wembanyama’s absence will give the 38-year0old center a chance to shine. Lopez is averaging 8.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks for the Clippers this season. He’s crucial for the Clippers to have any interior viability defensively or as rebounders against the Spurs, and his ability to stretch the floor might be more impactful now that he’ll likely match up with Luke Kornet instead of Wembanyama.
Bennedict Mathurin has been another great winter addition for the Clippers, averaging 19.5 points and 5.6 rebounds in 20 games since joining the franchise. He seems settled into his role as a sixth man on the franchise, providing a healthy scoring punch off the bench as the franchise looks to complete the greatest midseason turnaround in NBA history.
Wembanyama definitely is the reason San Antonio is already contending for a title, but their contention window also got pushed up due to the rapid development of second-year guard Stephon Castle. He is averaging 16.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 7.3 assists this season, cementing himself as the team’s starting two-guard going forward as their key POA defender while also serving as a secondary playmaker behind Fox. He’ll likely be responsible for guarding Garland in this clash and will have an increased offensive load without Wembanyama.
Devin Vassell is the second-longest tenured Spur on this roster, finding his role as the perfect 3-and-D forward to complement the team’s star center and potential star backcourt in the future. Vassell is averaging 14.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.5 assists this season on 38.9% shooting from three. His multi-faceted abilities on the court make him the perfect glue guy to tie this roster together, with a big night for Vassell likely meaning an emphatic win for the Spurs.
Prediction
The Clippers have proven to everyone in the NBA world that they’re a good team. They probably weren’t good enough to beat the Spurs with Wembanyama in the lineup, but they have more than a puncher’s chance without the Frenchman playing. Nonetheless, the momentum the franchise has right now goes beyond Wembanyama’s MVP play. The center averages 29.2 minutes per game, so a large chunk of the Spurs’ success has been executed by their impressive rotation. But on the road and with such a late setback, it seems the Clippers have a real chance. Unfortunately, that still likely won’t be enough.
Prediction: Clippers 107, Spurs 111
