Clippers outlast Spurs in another thriller, force Game 7
The best series of the first round of the 2015 NBA Playoffs is going the full seven games. It increasingly looks like a shame that it has to end at all.
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Facing elimination on Thursday night at the AT&T Center, the Los Angeles Clippers outlasted the host San Antonio Spurs 102-96 in Game 6 to force a deciding Game 7 at Staples Center on Saturday night. Despite their fifth very close contest, this was neither team’s best game. Rather, the Clippers pulled out their second road victory of the series with a combination of the late-game execution, quality decision-making, and lucky breaks they lacked in Games 2 and 5.
Let’s start with the game-deciding plays. The Clippers entered the final minute with just a 96-93 lead due to Marco Belinelli’s sixth three-pointer of the night at the 1:14 mark. Chris Paul and Kawhi Leonard traded missed threes on the next two plays to leave the Clippers with one last 24-second clock in which they could open up a two-possession lead. Paul worked his magic to create and make this short floater:
Up five with 21 seconds left, the Clippers were in very good shape to leave San Antonio with the series-tying win. But Belinelli answered with his seventh triple on his way to a team-high 27 points on 12 attempts, 11 of which came from behind the line:
Jamal Crawford knocked down free throws with 10 seconds remaining to give the Clippers a 100-96 advantage, presumably enough to win the game with just 10 seconds left. The Spurs took too long to get a shot on the subsequent possession, but they appeared to get a thin chance at the victory when referees whistled Blake Griffin for goaltending on another Belinelli three-pointer. However, the call was reversed upon replay review after it became apparent that Boris Diaw had touched the ball first, making it two straight games in which offensive interference helped decide the outcome:
This one just happened to work out for the Clippers. Boris Diaw was whistled for a clear path foul on the inbounds pass, and Blake Griffin knocked down both free throws to finish off the scoring and the game.
While Los Angeles ended up on top, they looked out of sorts for much of the first half. The Spurs missed a number of good shots early and turned it over eight times to give the Clippers a chance to get in front, and they obliged by taking an early lead due largely to the shooting of J.J. Redick, who scored 12 first-quarter points on 4-of-5 from the field. On the other hand, the Clippers saw their own struggles with 0-of-6 shooting from the perimeter (making it 18 misses in a row dating back to the first quarter of Game 5) and a rough experience for Chris Paul, who had six assists but missed his first six shots. The result was that the Spurs and Clips finished the quarter tied at 26-26 due largely to each other’s miscues and not their own great successes.
Yet the Spurs found their form early in the second quarter with five threes in the first 4:08, including four from Belinelli to open his fantastic night. With their trademark crisp ball movement and quality shooting, San Antonio took firm control of the game and amassed a 41-32 lead during what would prove to be their finest stretch of Game 6.
The curious thing is that it came to an end in part by their own doing. Gregg Popovich gave the order to foul DeAndre Jordan intentionally at the 7:35 mark of the second quarter, which started a stretch in which he split eight attempts (the last two occurred by mistake when Tim Duncan misread a hand signal from Popovich). The Clippers didn’t cut into that lead during that period, but the fouling ended up hurting the Spurs in several ways, most noticeably in that it saddled Tony Parker (two) and Tim Duncan (one) with fouls instead of less important players. But it also interrupted the Spurs’ offensive continuity at a time when they were in fine form and didn’t have any clear reason to allow the Clippers to set their defense. Additionally, the Clippers hadn’t score in more than two minutes at the time of the first intentional foul, so Popovich wasn’t exactly throwing a clicking offense into chaos.
The move backfired even more at the 3:59 mark when Duncan picked up his third foul on a Jordan and-one, sending the Spurs big man to the bench for the entirety of the Clippers’ half-closing 11-4 run (that included a much-needed three-pointer from Matt Barnes). After looking overmatched to start the second, Los Angeles somehow managed to enter the half with a 51-51 tie despite 0-of-7 shooting from Paul (who hit four free throws late in the half) and a 3-of-8 shooting performance from Griffin.
The Clippers continued to lead the way at the start of the half with a methodical 11-2 run. Griffin took control of the offense with a succession of mid-range jumpers and post looks on his way to 10 points in the quarter. However, the Spurs kept the margin close throughout the quarter thanks to the play of Boris Diaw, who joined Belinelli with very good and necessary play off the bench on a night when the starters had trouble scoring. The numbers were not great for San Antonio — Duncan took just nine shots on the night for 12 points, Kawhi Leonard struggled to 3-of-15 shooting, and Parker and Green combined to go 7-of-21 from the field for 15 points. If not for Belinelli and Diaw (17 points on 8-of-12 FG and five assists), the Spurs would have been in big trouble.
Instead, they experienced the other side of what they have done to so many teams over the past 15 years. The Clippers maintained at least a two-possession lead up until Belinelli’s aforementioned three with 1:14 left, holding the Spurs just far enough away to stay in control. Paul started to attack more to create opportunities for himself and teammates. Griffin also improved his fourth-quarter play after falling off due to fatigue in several games this series. While the Clippers were not dominant in the quarter, they made the right decisions and got the necessary luck to come away with the tight win that eluded them in Games 2 and 5. They even managed to withstand the loss of a key player when Glen “Big Baby” Davis went down with what looks like a serious injury:
This performance put the lie to various claims that the team lacks composure in crunch time. They still may fail to win this series, but they’re more than capable of winning a close game against a defending champion.
It’s anyone’s guess as to who holds the edge for Game 7. The Spurs have already shown the ability to win on the road but could have just blown their best chance at closing things out. The Clippers have the necessary confidence but are playing a team that very rarely loses two playoff games in a row. The Spurs have a championship pedigree but just depended on two role players to carry them in a close-out game. The Clippers have the stars but not the role players. Etc. ad infinitum.
Whatever happens, it should be fun. See you Saturday night.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
