Clippers To Face Spurs In First Round

The Clippers will have home court advantage in the first round of the NBA playoffs but will have to play the defending champion San Antonio Spurs.

Game 1 is set for Sunday at 7:30 pm at Staples Center and Game 2 will be played Wednesday night at the same time.

The teams will move to San Antonio for Games 3 and 4. The Clippers will have the home court for Games 5 and 7, if they are necessary

The Clippers won 14 of their last 15 regular season games. The Spurs won 21 of 24 before losing to New Orleans on the final night.

As the no. 6 seed the Spurs won’t have home court advantage for only the second time since Tim Duncan joined the team.

Clippers coach Doc Rivers is unhappy with the NBA’s method of matching playoff opponents.

He obje cts that teams who win their division get favorable treatment.

Based on regular season records the Portland Trail Blazers would have been No. 6 but they couldn’t go lower than fourth because they won their division.

The Clippers have qualified for the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year, a franchise record.

By contrast the Lakers failed to qualify for the playoffs for the second consecutive year.