Chris Paul of the Clippers drives around San Antonio’s Tim Duncan in Tuesday night’s game in San Antonio, won 108-87 by the Spurs/AP photo by Eric Gay

Just think, the Clippers were down by one measly point (71-70) entering the fourth quarter of what had been a hotly contested game at San Antonio on Tuesday night. Then, boom, the Spurs exploded and before the Clippers knew it, they were on the wrong end of a 108-87 score. San Antonio (57-10) is now 33-0 at home.

Asked for an explanation, Chris Paul said a mouthful.

“They just did what they usually do at home,” he said. “They turned up the intensity, the pressure a little bit, and put a 37-point quarter on us.”

The Spurs outscored the Clippers 37-17 in the final 12 minutes.

Paul led the Clippers (42-24) with 22 points, eight assists and three steals. He talked about how it seemed like things got out of hand in a hurry in that final stanza.

“Pretty quick,” he said. “Jamal (Crawford) had a shot at the top of the key and it sort of went in and out to start the quarter. I think (Manu) Ginobili hit a 3 or something from the wing and they just started getting put-back after put-back, and it started to get away from us.”

Next up for the Clippers are the Houston Rockets (34-33) on Wednesday night in Houston.