SAN ANTONIO -- In the wake of San Antonio's 102-96 loss Thursday to the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 6 of the Western Conference playoffs, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich used the four-letter word no player ever wants to be associated with.
"Soft," Popovich said three times, adding, "we should be embarrassed at the way we came out for a close-out game in every regard."
San Antonio entered Game 6 on its home court with a 3-2 lead and blew an opportunity to close the series and advance to the second round. With the stakes as high as The Tower of the Americas downtown and a lineup chock-full of stars such as Kawhi Leonard, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, Game 6 proved to be absolutely the wrong night to finish with Marco Belinelli as the leading scorer (23 points). That's not to take the shine off his brilliant performance.
Coming off the bench, Belinelli poured in a team-high 23 points, basically pointless considering the Spurs' starters allowed the Clippers' first group to outscore them 87-48.
"We're not going to lie to ourselves," said Boris Diaw (17 points, four rebounds, five assists), who had just put together his best game of the postseason. "Coach is good with those kinds of things, and he tells us the truth no matter what. He tells us when we play well, but he also tells us when we play bad or didn't bring enough energy. We came out flat at the beginning of the game, got back into it but never quite played strong enough."
Not even close. Offensively, especially. In addition to failing to generate sufficient ball movement, San Antonio struggled to match the aggressive play of the desperate Clippers while missing too many shots on open looks. Leonard averaged 23.4 points over the first five games of the series, yet contributed 12 points Thursday night on 3-of-15 shooting.
San Antonio's starters hit 19 of 51 attempts and 2 of 8 from long range, while the reserves nailed 17 of 32 from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range, led by Belinelli (7-for-11).
By comparison, the Clippers' starting five made 32 of 62 from the field.
"We should be embarrassed at the way we came out for a close-out game in every regard." Gregg Popovich
"Tough night, both ends of the floor," Popovich said. "We just didn't play well. I don't know what to tell you. That's what happened. We lost because the Clippers were determined, physical, focused, played harder than we did. We were soft with loose balls. We were soft. We'd get a rebound, they'd knock it out of our hands. [We had a] hard time getting open. I thought their physicality in that regard was great. We were just soft, and it hurt. I don't know how we stayed in the game, to be honest with you."
Somehow the Spurs did, though, with Belinelli sinking two 3-pointers in the last minute and a half. Belinelli busted a 26-footer with 14.9 seconds remaining to pull San Antonio within two points (98-96). But on the Clippers' next possession, Belinelli fouled Jamal Crawford, who made both the ensuing free throws to put away the game.
At one point, the Spurs led by 10 points as the game featured a total of five lead changes. Los Angeles' largest lead of the night was nine points.
"It was very disappointing to see the group approach it. There was a guy here and there that got after it," Popovich said. "But at the offensive end, we have to move the ball and play to win. That's not the way we play. We can't hold the basketball. When somebody's physical, and you hold the ball, the whole thing is exacerbated. You can't get anything done. So our execution at the offensive end was really poor. No excuse for it. Just poor. We've got to have some people step up and play. We are not going to be able to do it individually the same way [Chris Paul and Blake Griffin] do. We don't have that kind of talent. We have to do it as a group. The ball has got to move. It doesn't move, we've got big problems."
The Spurs turned over the ball 14 times, leading to 12 points by the Clippers. Los Angeles scored 18 points on fast breaks, compared to San Antonio's 2.
"I agree that our energy was not the best," Parker said. "Offensively, we couldn't get anything going in the second half."
The Clippers have now bested San Antonio twice on its home court this series, while the Spurs have done the same in Los Angeles.
Now the Spurs find themselves on the brink of elimination after having just sent the Clippers there on Tuesday by virtue of a 111-107 victory on the road. The winner of Saturday's matchup at the Staples Center advances to the second round to face the Houston Rockets.
Another performance like Thursday in Los Angeles will almost certainly send the Spurs back to San Antonio to clean out their lockers.
"We understand the pressure that's there, and we understand the magnitude of the game," Duncan said. "We understand we can play better than we did tonight. Hopefully, we will clean a whole lot of that up and play a much better game in this short turnaround. I know we are capable of it. We will be ready for it."