Spurs Rout Clippers In Game 1, Tim Duncan Shines

Tim Duncan, known as Mr. Fundamental, was fundamentally awesome on Tuesday night in the San Antonio Spurs Game 1 rout of the Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference seminfinals.

Los Angeles simply had no answer for Duncan (pictured left) inside, and couldn't keep the Spurs from raining 3s on the outside. Duncan finished with an incredible stat line of 26 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. San Antonio connected on 13 three pointers. That combination propelled the Spurs to a 108-92 victory over the Clippers.

Duncan's veteran teammate Manu Ginobili was fantastic as well, scoring 22 points off the bench. San Antonio has now won 15 in a row.

There didn't appear to be any rust on the Spurs wheels after 8 days off. San Antonio came out firing on all cylinders, while Los Angeles looked like a team in need of rest. Chris Paul finished with 10 assists and 5 steals, but his cold night shooting (3-13 for 6 points) hurt his team's chances of an upset.

"I felt I got all the shots that I wanted. I just didn't make them," Paul explained in postgame. "That's the most frustrating part. Getting to where I wanted to and not seeing them go down. Can't do that in the playoffs."

Even if Paul's shot as on, it would've been difficult to overcome a well rested San Antonio squad. The best Clipper on Tuesday night was backup point guard Eric Bledsoe. The 2nd year man out of Kentucky was the one Clipper who seemed to be feeling it offensively. His stat line of 23 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block will earn him more playing time as the series continues.

Game 2 is Thursday night in San Antonio. Tip-off is set for 8:30.