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 With his team facing elimination, forward Blake Griffin scored 26
points and grabbed 12 rebounds, helping the Los Angeles Clippers
defeat San Antonio 102-96 Thursday to even their NBA Western
Conference first-round playoff series at 3-3.
"I've been saying all year, this team is tough," Clippers coach Doc
Rivers said. "They are mentally tough."
Game 7 is Saturday in Los Angeles, where the Clippers conceivably
have an edge playing at home. Then again, both teams are 1-2 at home
in the series.
"The Spurs are probably excited -- they get to go to our place,"
Rivers said, laughing.
Before losing Thursday, the Spurs finished off seven straight
playoff opponents at home since losing a Game 7 to the Dallas
Mavericks in 2006.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich ripped his team after the streak was
snapped.
"(The Clippers) played harder than we did," Popovich said. "We were
soft. We should be embarrassed the way we came out for a close-out
game."
Guards J.J. Redick and Chris Paul scored 19 apiece for the Clippers.
Paul, who added 15 assists, scored 15 in the second half, including
a basket that gave Los Angeles a 98-93 lead with 21 seconds
remaining. Clippers center DeAndre Jordan contributed 15 points and
14 rebounds.
Reserve guard Marco Belinelli led the Spurs with 23 points.
Belinelli made seven 3-point baskets, one of which left the Spurs
trailing by two with 14.5 seconds left.
Backup guard Jamal Crawford secured the win for the Clippers by
making two free throws with 10 seconds remaining. Griffin added two
foul shots in the last second for the final margin.
San Antonio reserve forward Boris Diaw supplemented Belinelli with
17 points, but the Spurs' starters struggled. Forwards Tim Duncan
and Kawhi Leonard scored 12 points each, but Leonard hit just three
of 15 shots from the field. Guard Tony Parker wasn't much better,
making four of 12 shots and scoring eight points. Guard Danny Green
went 3-for-9 in a seven-point effort.
The Clippers led by four heading to the fourth quarter after Paul
scored eight straight points during the final five minutes of the
third. He also assisted on a dunk by forward Glen Davis for the
final points of the period. Davis later left the game with an
injured left ankle.
Griffin carried the Clippers through most of the third quarter,
scoring 10 points during the first six minutes.
Thanks to Griffin, the Clippers managed to maneuver from 10 points
down midway through the second quarter to nine ahead less than five
minutes into the third quarter.
"I thought Blake and Chris took the game over," Popovich said. "They
were tremendous."
The Clippers pulled even by halftime despite Paul missing all seven
of his first-half field-goal attempts. Paul said he was not
concerned about his shooting.
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"I didn't think about it," Paul said. "It was all about continuing
to take the shot, do what we need to win."
Not that Paul failed to contribute in the first half. He handed out
eight assists, while Jordan and Redick picked up the slack in
scoring with 15 and 14 points, respectively.
Jordan, a poor free-throw shooter, missed six of 13 in the half as
the Spurs continued their series-long strategy of intentionally
fouling him. But midway through the second quarter, when the Spurs
led by 10, Duncan misinterpreted a signal from Popovich not to foul.
Duncan picked up his second foul on that play and his third,
unintentionally, with 3:59 remaining in the half. Duncan left the
game, and the Clippers finished the half with an 11-4 push.
"That was my fault," Duncan said. "I actually was looking in the
other direction when he said 'no.' He was calling a play, and I
mistook it for what it was."
Rivers, meanwhile, was happy his team was tied at halftime after
watching Griffin and Paul combine to convert three of 15 shots.
"You're thinking, 'I think I'm gonna live with that,'" Rivers said
of being level at the break.
NOTES: San Antonio's victory against the Clippers in Los Angeles on
Tuesday improved its record to 13-3 in Game 5s of series that were
tied at 2-2 under Gregg Popovich, who is in his 19th season as the
Spurs' coach. They are 4-1 on the road in those games. ... San
Antonio's win in Los Angeles was its 60th on the road in a playoff
game since 1997 -- 13 more than anybody else in the NBA. The Los
Angeles Lakers are next with 47. ... The Clippers missed on 13 of 14
3-point attempts during their 111-107 loss in Game 5. Coach Doc
Rivers said that 10 of the shots missed were wide open. ... Rivers
was fined $25,000 by the NBA for his criticism of the officiating
after Game 5. After reviewing the full officials' report from the
game, Rivers said, "I was right a lot. We have the hardest game to
officiate. You move on."
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