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 "We absolutely lost it for a while," Rivers said.
The Clippers regrouped and found their stroke again late, rallying
for a 129-127 victory Wednesday night at Staples Center.
Two free throws by guard Jamal Crawford with 11.2 seconds left were
the difference as the Clippers won their fourth in a row and snapped
the Mavericks' three-game winning streak.
"I really can't explain that game," Rivers said. "That was one of
those games where you throw the kitchen sink and try everything. We
were making shots, they were making shots, and we end up making
enough to win."
Guard J.J. Redick, who finished with 33 points, sinking seven
3-pointers, hit a trey with 34 seconds left to cut the Mavericks'
lead to 127-126.
Crawford was fouled by forward Shawn Marion on a drive to the
bucket, and he put Los Angeles on top. Guard Jose Calderon had a
chance to win it for Dallas, but he missed a 3-pointer with 3.9
seconds remaining.
"Basketball is a humbling game," said Crawford, who struggled
through 4-of-13 shooting from the floor. "The same shots you make in
practice and in other games, sometimes it just doesn't go your way.
The one thing I love about my teammates and coaching staff is they
just stay with it. (Rivers) has a lot of patience. He lets me kind
of wade through (a shooting slump). Hopefully I kind of made him
look good in the end for still believing in me."
Forward Blake Griffin scored 23 points, handed out eight assists and
grabbed seven rebounds, while reserve forward Matt Barnes scored 25
for the Clippers (27-13). Crawford finished with 16 points.
Forward Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas with 27 points and eight rebounds.
Center Samuel Dalembert added 20 points and seven rebounds. Guards
Jose Calderon had 16 points, and Monta Ellis had 13 points and 13
assists.
"It was just one of those games," Dalembert said. "Things happen. So
many things happened."
Barnes nailed back-to-back 3-pointers to give Los Angeles a 100-91
advantage with 2:47 remaining in the third, but Dallas scored 15
consecutive points for a 106-100 lead two minutes into the fourth
quarter.
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Dallas (23-17) continued to pour it on with a 23-4 surge,
capped by a three-point play by reserve center Brandan Wright
with 4:49 remaining in the game that made it 123-106. That is
when the Clippers launched their rally.
"When you score a 127 points, it should be a win," said Marion,
who returned after missing four games with a shoulder injury. He
scored 14 points in 33 minutes. "They did a good job of taking
us out of our game. But at the same time, we had good looks.
Some of them just came out."
Said Crawford, "We had every reason to fold. ... Things just
weren't going right. The coaches kept saying, 'Keep believing.
Keep hanging in there.' We became the aggressors and seemed like
they backed up a little bit. We just continued to apply
pressure."
Los Angeles owned a 76-64 lead early in the third quarter after
an alley-oop dunk by center DeAndre Jordan, but the Mavericks
put together a 19-8 run capped by a dunk by Marion to pull to
within 84-83 midway through the quarter.
Tempers flared in the second quarter when Griffin and Dalembert
got tangled up beneath the Clippers' basket and had to be
restrained. Dalembert received a technical foul.
"When things got a little chippy, I thought we buckled down and
played better," Griffin said. "That's the reason for us coming
back."
Both teams shot well. The Clippers hit 17 of 34 3-point
attempts, while the Mavericks made 12 of 25 (48 percent).
Overall, Los Angeles shot 50.6 percent (42 of 83) compared to
52.6 percent (51 of 97) for Dallas.
NOTES: The Clippers are nearing a deal with free agent F Hedo
Turkoglu, coach Doc Rivers said. Turkoglu is expected to join
the club before it embarks on a seven-game road trip beginning
Friday against the New York Knicks. Turkoglu's addition will
probably result in the release of G Maalik Wayns or G Darius
Morris, both of whom recently signed 10-day contracts. ...
Injured Mavericks PG Devin Harris is close to making his season
debut. Harris, out due to a toe injury, did not play against Los
Angeles and is already ruled out of Friday night's game against
the Phoenix Suns. He possibly could play Saturday in Dallas'
home game against the Portland Trail Blazers. ... In five games
starting in place of injured PG Chris Paul, Los Angeles PG
Darren Collison is averaging 16.6 points and 7.2 assists.
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