Western Conference Semi Finals: Spurs eliminate Clippers after strong return by Ingram, 85-94 (4-1).

It was like deja vu for Spurs fans tonight, as they witnessed Brandon Ingram will the Spurs to a victory in Game 5, as he had done in Game 7 v. Utah before spraining his elbow.

There were worries about Ingram's return disrupting chemistry, given the promising contributions by Prince & Tucker in his absence. The compromise was Ingram coming off the bench and unleashing the scoring power the Spurs had missed for the first four games of this series v. Los Angeles.

Always exciting, Ingram was tasked with guarding Kawhi Leonard for spells. He came into the game after a 13-25 opening by the home team, as it became clear that LA was struggling to make shots. Taurean Prince had made two threes, and Tucker one. Joe Harris got going next, making it 23-40, then 31-50 at halftime.

Ingram's first points came off a fierce fast-break throw-down, 50-67 after the third quarter. The Clippers, especially Kawhi Leonard, defied the end to their season and championship aspirations, surging back within three points throughout the fourth quarter, but it was Ingram's scoring that proved to be the difference. The former Duke star blocked Paul George's shot in the clutch, then banged in a 3PT dagger of his own, putting the Spurs up 85-94 in a game that the Spurs needed a hot hand to win.

Ingram finished with 29 points, 9 rebounds, making four threes and nabbing a trio of steals. A relief after being forced to an elimination Game 7 by Utah, this series comes to a relatively quick close, especially without its leading scorer for most of the games. The Spurs will next face their toughest challenge yet: needing to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers four times out of seven, when they haven't been able to defeat them even once in the regular season. If they pull that off, the Milwaukee Bucks will be looking for a rubber Finals match, unless the 76ers (with MVP Ben Simmons) knock them out.