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http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/preview?gameId=280326024
8:30 PM ET, March 26, 2008
AT&T Center, San Antonio , TX
Clippers-Spurs Preview
STATS LLC
The San Antonio Spurs have more than bounced back from their longest losing streak of the season.
The surging Spurs look to win their fifth straight game while trying to continue their dominance of the visiting Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night.
San Antonio (48-23) won 107-97 at Orlando on Tuesday, improving to 4-0 since losing four in a row March 12-17. The latest victory left the Spurs fifth in the compe ive Western Conference, but just one game back of the overall lead in both the West and the Southwest Division.
"We are headed in that direction," said Tim Duncan, who had 19 points and 15 rebounds versus Orlando. "It is coming down to crunch time here and we are healthy. That is a big part of it."
Manu Ginobili had 28 points while Michael Finley added 24 for the Spurs, who shot 54.1 percent from the field and topped the 100-point mark for the third time in four games.
San Antonio is averaging 99.8 points during its current winning streak after putting up 85.5 per game during the recent skid.
"We were really in a drought and over the last couple of weeks we've been making shots and our offense has been there," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said.
The Spurs will now look to sweep the three-game season series from Los Angeles (21-49). They are also trying for their eighth consecutive win overall against the Clippers, and 11th straight at home in the series.
Ginobili, who averages 20.2 points, has combined for 54 in his last two games. He had 23 points in the Spurs' 88-82 road win over Los Angeles on Jan. 6 -- the teams' most recent meeting.
Duncan, meanwhile, is averaging 25.5 points and 17.5 boards against the Clippers this season.
Los Angeles fell 103-90 at Dallas on Tuesday to extend its longest losing streak of the season to eight games.
Though little has gone right for the injury-riddled Clippers, and they won't have star Elton Brand in the lineup Wednesday, the forward is expected to play before the season ends next month.
Brand, the team's leading scorer the previous two seasons, hopes to return for as many as the final eight games. He has missed the entire season thus far while recovering from a torn Achilles' tendon.
"We've been ultraconservative with this," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. "We're not bringing him back soon by any means. ... If he didn't feel like he was ready to do it, then I wouldn't want to do it. He's the one who's chomping at the bit. So we'll see how it goes."
Without Brand on Tuesday, Corey Maggette had 21 points as Los Angeles dropped its sixth consecutive road game. Maggette is averaging 26.2 points over his last five games.
However, he is averaging only 14.2 points in his last six games versus San Antonio.
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