It was a first for the Clippers in the first game after the All-Star break. They beat one of the Western Conference’s top teams for the first time this season on Thursday, a 105-86 victory over the San Antonio Spurs at Staples Center, making the elite teams ahead of them in the standings seem a bit less invincible. Here are five takeaways from the game:
1. Chris Paul was something else with almost no one available to back him up. The Clippers point guard played all but 3:54 of the second half and would have played the final two minutes had not his team's best victory of the season already been secured, allowing C.