LOS ANGELES — When it’s trade deadline day in the NBA, there’s no better place for a player to be than somewhere in the Pacific time zone.
With a mid-afternoon deadline established for the convenience of the league office in New York, Spurs and Clippers players were able to enjoy a hearty pre-game lunch without washing it down with antacids.
Before and after beating the Clippers for the first time this season, a thorough 116-90 domination in which point guard Tony Parker notched his 10th game of 30 or more points, the Spurs enjoyed the best record in the league, now 44-12.
And the Clippers? They’ve still won four of their last five games and are putting some heat on both the Spurs and the second-place Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference race. But they must be smarting after Thursday’s embarrassment on their home court.
Far from broken, there was no need to fix either team by making trades, though both did their due diligence.
“There just wasn’t anything out there I thought made us better,” said Spurs coach and president of basketball operations Gregg Popovich. “Everybody’s on the phones, all the GMs. If there’s something that can make your team better people do it. Obviously, we didn’t think there was anything that could help us right now.”
It wasn’t a great surprise that Parker had another huge game. He has been on a tear during the rodeo road trip that has produced six wins in seven games. What was shocking was how he dominated his point guard matchup with Chris Paul, the All-Star Game MVP. Parker finished with 31 points and seven assists without playing in the fourth quarter.
Paul scored only four points and had three assists.
The blowout win allowed Popovich to give Parker, team captain Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili limited time on the court, and precious time off it. None of the Big Three played more than 28 minutes, with Duncan logging only 16.
Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro may have been wondering if his team might have benefited from a deal as he watched the Spurs run a clinic on his team Thursday night, but he endorsed the stand-pat policy his organization took.
“We’re always looking, like any organization, to make our team as strong as possible,” Del Negro said before the game, “but we’re very comfortable and I’m very excited about the team.”
Both coaches understand the tension that builds in the locker room until the deadline passes. Players who see their names in pre-deadline speculation welcomed its passing.
“I’m glad for that to be over so I can just play now and not worry about it,” said Spurs swingman Stephen Jackson, playing for the first time since returning from personal leave to deal with a family issue. “I’ve been around a long time so I’m not the type of guy to sit around and dwell on it. It’s a part of the game.
“I’m going to go out and do my job, but at the same time, it’s always good to have it off your mind, especially with the team we have. We’ve got a chance to win a championship. Not everybody can just think about that.
“Even with DeJuan (Blair), he wasn’t playing that much but he was thinking about (being traded). Now everybody can just focus on the team and getting the job done.”
Blair, a free agent-to-be who has made it clear he would like to be in a situation that afforded him more playing time, said he was happy to remain in silver and black.
“Why would I be disappointed?” he said. “Best record in the league. Of course I want to play but something will happen someday.
“I’m maintaining a professional approach and I’m happy to still be here.”
