The loss Saturday to the Spurs was painful for obvious reasons. The Clippers had the game won and allowed the Spurs to tie on one of the strangest turnovers you'll ever see. But there was some solace in knowing that the team had played well enough to win against a very good team.
Monday night in Oakland against the Warriors was a different kind of loss. A two point lead and the ball in the final three minutes certainly isn't the same thing as a three point lead and the ball in the final ten seconds, but neither are the Warriors the Spurs. The Clippers were the team with the 4-2 record in games decided by three points or less -- the Warriors were 1-6 in tight contests. With the two best players on the court, including the guy who had come through in the fourth quarter on countless occasions before, it seemed obvious that the Clippers would be the team that would execute effectively down the stretch and win the game.
In a Western Conference battle, where the winner would emerge as the #2 team, Tony Parker led his San Antonio Spurs into Staples Center, riding a nine game winning streak. The Clippers took a quick 15-4 lead, and led 26-15 at the end of the first period behind 12 Blake Griffin points.
Tony who?
Tony Parker, that's who. Parker scored 8 of his 30 in the second period, including a last-second layup, and led a San Antonio run to take a 45-43 lead going into the locker room Then, Parker came out in the third and dropped 8 more points in the first 5 minutes of the second half as the Clippers fell behind by 15, 65-50.
Enter Randy Foye. Finally with production fitting of a starter, Foye scored 13 of the Clippers first 15 second-half points, and hit another three pointer to tie the game at 65. Little-used sophomore guard Eric Bledsoe even got some extended run in the third, and made quite an impact. He played the last 6 minutes of the period, and logged 3 rebounds and 2 assists, and a lot of good defense. Bled also fed Blake Griffin on a monster dunk to take the lead, 67-65.
Tonight, on the national stage, with the great Marv Albert calling play by play, the Clippers took on conference rival Portland Trailblazers. It was an opportunity for the Clippers to go on the road with the whole country watching to show that they are the real deal. They opened the game playing by far their worst half of basketball of the year, and found themselves down by as many as 18 points in the game. In spite of the slow start, the Clippers managed to come all the way back and win this game. Winning ugly is still winning, and the Clippers may very well have shown just how real they are. The box score is here for anyone who missed it. More after the Jump.
The Los Angeles Clippers had dispatched the Washington Wizards so easily when the two teams met back east 11 days ago that there was a tendency to feel uneasy tonight as the game wore on. The Wizards hung around and hung around, actually taking the lead periodically in the second and third quarters. But even when the Wizards were close, it felt like the Clippers were still in control. The Clippers were dominating the boards, and were getting plenty of good shots, some of which just weren't falling. Meanwhile, there was something that seemed flukey about Washington's runs to that point. John Wall was constantly walking a tight rope between a turnover and an assist, a charge and a block. It was generating points, but it couldn't last, could it?
Now, that's a dangerous way to play. You don't want to let a young team like Washington hang around. Nick Young and Jordan Crawford are streaky shooters, and that team would certainly have a puncher's chance to hit enough threes to steal a win if they were close in the fourth. You have to put them away at some point.
A quick confession. I didn't see the game... well, I saw bits and pieces, but I only just realized no one had picked up the recap. Maybe Steve is preparing a post. I'm not sure. Anyway, I'll make some quick observations... and someone will be back with more later:
- The Washington Wizards are a better team than we expected. The coaching change seems to have helped and the team is playing with heart and passion. They were in it up until the fourth quarter. They're still young and don't have first rate talent but they've got some players, John Wall, Javale McGee, Nick Young all look like real NBA rotation players. I didn't feel that way when the Clips played them in Washington two weeks ago.
- Wow... what a difference Kenyon Martin has made. The Clippers suddenly seem to have an effective bench. Who knew what Martin might bring. His stats in the Chinese league were unimpressive. We wondered if he would be in shape or had anything left at the age of 34. But he seems to be in great shape, and plays a physical, heady game. He's worked himself into the rotation seamlessly in just a couple of games.
- That very same Kenyon Martin has taken minutes not just from Ryan Gomes, but from Reggie Evans and from 43 million dollar DeAndre Jordan. Interesting.
- The Clipper braintrust seems to be carefully controlling Chris Paul's minutes. Not sure why, but, with a game tomorrow night it can't be a bad thing.
Here's the box. More later, maybe from me, maybe someone else.
This was never much of a basketball game. The Charlotte Bobcats came in having lost 13 straight, and playing without their two leading scorers, Gerald Henderson and D.J. Augustin. The Los Angeles Clippers, led by North Carolina native Chris Paul playing in front of about 150 friends and family, put them away early and efficiently. The Clippers led by 34 briefly near the end of the third quarter, 84-50. Some particularly garbage-y garbage time made the final score a little loss lopsided.
So far this season, the Los Angeles Clippers have had an available excuse for almost every loss. Not that they've made excuses mind you, but Clipper apologists like myself would willingly make excuses for them. Losses to San Antonio and Chicago in games 2 and 3 came against good teams before the newly formed Clippers had had a chance to jell. Two losses came while Chris Paul was out of the lineup with a strained hamstring, and a third came in his first game back in which he shot 2 for 8. The most recent loss at home against Denver was 'schedule' loss, as the Clippers slogged through their fourth game in five nights.
On the face of it, this is nothing but good news for the Los Angeles Clippers. An away win against a tough, big, unfamiliar opponent, against a team with one of the two or three best players in the NBA. They used their skill, and their guile to construct an unlikely, hard won, overtime victory against the Orlando Magic, a foe who seemed to have them stopped on multiple occasions.
But then there is reality. With 5:48 remaining in the fourth, Chauncey Billups, who'd hit five three-point shots already, went down untouched in the open court while turning to chase after a change of possession. The play went on, but Billups didn't get up. Time out was called, the Clippers gathered over their veteran teammate and finally they carried him from the court.
Slowly, as the game battle wore on, we learned that Billups had an "Achilles -related injury". After the game, Steve Kyler (from Hoopsworld) and later, ESPN delivered devastating, if somewhat incomplete news... Chauncey Billups has suffered what looks to be a tear in his Achilles tendon. Now, we have to be careful about this: all of our info, at this point, is conjecture. Until an MRI is performed tomorrow, we don't really know anything. But apparently, despite a rousing Clippers victory, the demeanor in the Clipper locker room after the game was...somber.
The box is here, the gameflow is here. More after the break.
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