SAN ANTONIO — LaMarcus Aldridge scored 19 points and the San Antonio Spurs beat the undermanned Los Angeles Clippers, 109-91, on Monday night (Tuesday Manila time) in Kawhi Leonard's home debut this season.
Tony Parker had 16 points and seven assists in 23 minutes, his second-longest stint after missing the first 19 games while recovering from left quadriceps tendon surgery.
San Antonio is taking a similar incremental approach with Leonard, limiting his minutes after he missed the first 27 games of the season due to right quadriceps tendinopathy.
Leonard did not play in the second half against the Clippers after scoring seven points in 16 minutes during the first half, ending his streak of 110 straight games scoring in double figures.
The 6-foot-7 forward made his first attempt, pulling up from 13 feet in the lane for his first points in the AT&T Center since May 9. Leonard gave the crowd and the Spurs' bench a scare when he tumbled awkwardly to the court on a contested layup, but he got up quickly while shaking his head over the non-call as San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich screamed at the officials.
The Clippers were without five players, including leading scorers Blake Griffin and Lou Williams.
Los Angeles rookie Jamil Wilson had a season-high 13 points. DeAndre Jordan also had 13 points along with 14 rebounds.
The Spurs built a double-digit lead in the first seven minutes as the Clippers shot 20 percent and fell behind 22-12.