Clippers shrug off blowout, top Spurs to even series

[April 27, 2015]  SAN ANTONIO -- As it turns out, that pounding the San Antonio administered to the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night was no sign that the Spurs were in control of their NBA playoff series.

Guard Chris Paul scored 34 points, forward Blake Griffin added 20 along with 19 rebounds, and the Clippers defeated the Spurs 114-105 Sunday to even the Western Conference first-round series at 2-2.

That represented quite a turnaround from Friday, when Griffin and Paul combined for only 21 points during a 100-73 defeat.

"There is no momentum in this series," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. "Just two very good teams, two evenly matched teams."

Griffin and Paul each handed out seven assists Sunday. Guard J.J. Redick supplemented the two Clippers stars with 17 points. Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard and guard Danny Green did substandard work trying to contain Redick, coach Gregg Popovich said.

The Clippers received scoring help from a pair of reserve guards. Austin Rivers, Doc's son, scored 16 -- converting seven of eight shots from the field -- and Jamal Crawford had 15. Rivers and Crawford scored five apiece early in the fourth quarter, when the Clippers forged ahead by 13 points. Rivers also played some stout defense.

Leonard led San Antonio with 26 points. Forward Tim Duncan produced 22 points and 14 rebounds, and guard Tony Parker scored 18.

The Clippers trailed by one point late in the third quarter. Paul then made six consecutive free throws and a jump shot during the final 2:14, staking the Clippers to an 81-76 at the end of the quarter.

The Clippers' surge came after Doc Rivers removed center DeAndre Jordan (14 rebounds, four blocks, six points), a poor free-throw shooter, from the game. Jordan had just missed four straight, the second two after the Spurs fouled him intentionally. Removing Jordan was not an easy decision for Rivers. Jordan is one of the worst free-throw shooters in the league but the leading rebounding and a top-notch defender.

"Nine times out of 10 times, I'm guessing," Rivers said. "I go by gut."

Before the game, Rivers suggested that Paul was too selfless, sometimes opting to pass when maybe he should shoot. Afterward, Paul said he wasn't looking to shoot more but received opportunities in the flow of the game.

"I just try to play the right way," said Paul, who made 11 of 19 field-goal attempts. "When the shot's there, I try to take it. I try not to force things, try to make the right pass. Tonight, it was just the ball movement. We played at the right tempo. We set screens. Our defense was better."

That defense limited the Spurs to six 3-point baskets in 25 attempts. Green, a 47 percent 3-point shooter at home during the regular season, missed with all six of his attempts Sunday. San Antonio also missed 10 of 35 free throws, including four misses apiece by Duncan and Parker.

"Those are points we need, points we have to have," Duncan said. "They defended the 3-point line very well. But stuff like at the free-throw line, executing plays ..."

Popovich said the Spurs made too many mistakes in a lot of areas.

"We lacked a lot of discipline," Popovich said. "I thought we were just not very wise in a lot of situations."

Game 5 is Tuesday in Los Angeles.

NOTES: How deep are the Spurs? They won Game 3 of the series by 27 points despite F Tim Duncan, G Tony Parker and G Manu Ginobili combining for only 12, the fewest ever by San Antonio's Big 3 in a playoff game. ... Clippers G Chris Paul's six turnovers and four assists in Game 3 marked the first time this season he had more turnovers than assists. ... Clippers coach Doc Rivers said reserve F Hedo Turkoglu has an ankle problem. "Turk sprained his ankle or something the other day," Rivers said. "I didn't know a guy moving that slow could." ... Clippers F Matt Barnes on Spurs F Kawhi Leonard's 32-point, three-steal performance in Game 3: "What didn't he do?" Barnes said. "He guarded all of our best players, he made all his shots. He led their team and he killed us." ... Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said Leonard's work ethic enabled him to make a successful conversion from a college power forward who worked around the basket to an NBA small forward. But Popovich said assistant coaches Chip Engelland and Chad Forcier deserve credit as well. "They have really been masters of teaching him about the perimeter," Popovich said.

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